Quins hoping to Temp(l)er Saints
By KevT
November 6 2003
NEC Harlequins take on second placed Northampton Saints on Saturday at the Stoop (kick off 3.00pm). Quins will have taken heart from their second away victory of the season at Leeds last Friday. They will be looking to bring an end to a run of two successive defeats at home.
Quins make three changes to the team that beat Leeds by 30 –16 at Headingley. In the front row, Tani Fuga replaces the injured James Hayter at hooker. James has played through a lot of pain in the last couple of matches. Mike Worsley has recovered from the illness that kept him out of the side that played against Leeds and replaces Ceri Jones at loosehead prop. In the backs, Paul Burke replaces Andy Dunne at Fly Half in what must have been a difficult selection. It’s clear that there is some real competition for the Fly Half position.
Quins’ tight head prop Jon Dawson was satisfied with the way the front row performed against Leeds. “The scrum went well. The front row got a lot of help from everyone else in the scrum. James Hayter did really well. Fair play to him, I don’t think he could feel his leg during the match after a few painkillers but it really hurt on the coach afterwards. All of the team were very grateful to him for the way he played with that injury. It was a great result and we really needed to build some momentum. It wasn’t the prettiest game to watch but it was really enjoyable to play in.”
I asked Jon what Quins’ captain Andre Vos said to him after one magnificent scrum against Leeds where the opposition front row was pummelled. “Andre said ‘Keep going please’.”
I asked Jon about Saturday’s match against Northampton. “They’ve been playing well. I didn’t see the game on Saturday but I’ve seen some of their matches on tape. Andrew Blowers is a world class player and it going to be a tough match.”
Northampton Saints make three changes, all in the backs, to the team that defeated Gloucester 30 –17 at Franklyn Gardens last Saturday. Shane Drahm is on the bench after sustaining a badly bruised thigh (from an Andy Hazell late tackle) against Gloucester. James Brook starts. In the centre John Leslie and Chris Hyndman return with Bruce Reihana moving to wing. Mark Robinson retains his place at scrum half despite being sent off in the fracas which saw four players cited, two from Northampton and Andy Hazel and Duncan McRae from Gloucester. Robinson and Fly Half Shane Drahm’s hearing is set for next week.
The Saints’ pack is fairly unfamiliar to most Premiership observers but don’t let that fool you. They are capable of mixing it with any team in the league. They don’t have the best set piece but contest the tackle area better than almost any other team in the league They carry a very physical presence. At loose head prop England Under 21 international Brett Sturgess starts and partners 29 year old New Zealander Chris Budgen who plays at tight head. Budgen is a useful scrummager whose role has mainly been as an impact player from the bench. He gets the nod over England international Robbie Morris who is on the bench. At hooker, Dan Richmond starts in the absence of England player Steve Thompson who is in Australia. In the second row, 6’ 4” New Zealand lock Matt Lord is partnered by former London Irish player Robert Hunter. They are not the strongest line out jumpers in the league but last week, managed to win their own ball against the league’s top line out stealer, Alex Brown. If there is one back row in the country that will give the Quins’ much vaunted threesome a run for their money, it is the Saints’, back row. Wallaby international mark Connors has moved from second row to blind side flanker and is the sort of player that opposition players hate to play against. He is strong with ball in hand, very physical in the tackle and is a feisty player. A fact that England second row Danny Grewcock will attest to after they came up against each other. Grewcock was seen to shread Connors’ scrum cap in frustration during their encounter last year. At open side flanker, Darren Fox plays following the absence due to long term injury of former Scotland captain Budge Pountney. The 22 year old Fox is one of the top young open sides of the younger generation of players and is obviously learning a lot from the peerless Andrew Blowers who is playing at Number Eight. Blowers is in the form of his life and according to Stuart Barnes, Blowers would do a better job than current All Black Captain Reuben Thorne. The Northampton back row turn over a lot of ball and are then able to feed a very quick set of backs.
Saints are perhaps fortunate to have Mark Robinson playing after his sending off last week. He is a typical New Zealand scrum half who provides good service to his Fly Half, 23 year old England ‘A’ and Sevens player James Brooks. He is an effective ten but Saints will miss Shane Drahm (if he doesn’t recover from his injury!!!) who is the form Fly Half in the Premiership. I’m sure Saints saw Drahm as a World Cup replacement for Paul (Larry) Grayson but Drahm has exceeded all expectation and Grayson will find it hard to get his place back. If Drahm doesn’t play then Saints will really miss him. In the centre, Captain and Scottish international John Leslie returns. Leslie is a strong and straight running centre who will make gaps for 21 year old Chris Hyndman who plays at outside centre. Leslie’s match up with the equally straight running Mel Deane should produce sparks. On the left wing, one of my favourite players, All Black Bruce Reihana starts. Reihana is very quick and a wonderful footballer. He is not the type of player to stay on his wing and gets through an incredible amount of work. He is a real game breaker. On the right wing, Saints have selected former England international and Saints’ veteran Jon Sleightholme. He may have lost a little of his pace but he still picks a great line and is a good finisher. At Full back, the galloping Nick Beal plays. He is one of those players who always seems to score against Quins. It is very dangerous to kick the ball to him in any space.
Saints have lost a number of players to World Cup duty including Steve Thompson, Matt Dawson, Paul Grayson and Ben Cohen. This seems to have made little difference to the team given the form they showed in the first half against Gloucester last week. Under the excellent coaching of Wayne Smith, the Northampton side, without their stars, seem to play above the sum of their parts. As Matt Dawson admitted at the end of last season, the Saints, with their internationals flatter to deceive.
The key to the match will, once again, come down to two areas, the line out and the tackle area. Quins should be able to secure decent possession against the Saints line out duo but will find the Saints’ back row all over them in the tackle area. The refereeing of the inexperienced Martin Fox will be crucial to the result of this match. Quins’ selection of Paul Burke at Fly Half may be down to his ability to kick penalties which the physical and “edgy” Saints back row may give away. Quins’ front row will also hope to continue their form from last week where they destroyed the Leeds scrum.
Quins cannot afford to turn over ball as the Saints’ backs are quick and elusive. Reihana and Beal are excellent broken field runners, but it’s nice to see a Quins side with equal ability in their back row and Monye and Keogh to run in the trys.
The absence of Shane Drahm to kick the goals and direct the Saints’ backs may be crucial. The return from injury of Quins’ game breakers such as Tani Fuga at hooker, Chris Bell at inside centre, Ugo Monye on the wing and Josh Taumalolo should give Quins a greater cutting edge than they showed against Sale two weeks ago. I select Quins to win but Saints will run them close.
NEC Harlequins: 15 Josh Taumalolo; 14 Simon Keogh; 13 Chris Bell; 12 Mel Deane; 11 Ugo Monye; 10 Paul Burke; 9 Ben Willis; 1 Mike Worsley; 2 Tani Fuga
3 Jon Dawson; 4 Bill Davison; 5 Jim Evans; 6 Pat Sanderson; 7 Andre Vos; 8 Tony Diprose
Replacements:16 James Hayter; 17 Ceri Jones; 18 Laurent Gomez; 19 Karl Rudzki; 20 Roy Winters; 21 Andy Dunne; 22 Gavin Duffy
Northampton Saints: 15 Nick Beal; 14 Jon Sleightholme; 13 Chris Hyndman; 12 John Leslie (c); 11 Bruce Reihana; 10 James Brooks; 9 Mark Robinson; 1 Brett Sturgess; 2 Dan Richmond; 3 Chris Budgen; 4 Matt Lord; 5 Rob Hunter; 6 Mark Connors; 7 Darren Fox; 8 Andrew Blowers
Replacements from: Matt Miles, Robbie Morris, Jon Golding, Jon Phillips, Grant Seely, Oriol Ripol, Mark Soden Johnny Howard, John Clarke