Quins hoping to “Brive” the elements in France
By KevT
January 30 2004
NEC Harlequins take on Brive in the second leg of the Parker Pen Challenge Cup at The Parc des Municipal Sports on Sunday 1st February (kick off 2.00pm UK time). Quins hold a 33 point advantage from the first leg after beating Brive 41 – 8 at The Stoop.
Quins make five changes to the team that started against Brive last week, four of those changes are in the pack. In the front row, Mike Worsley comes in for Ceri Jones and Laurent Gomez replaces Jason Leonard. In the second row, Bill Davison replaces Karl Rudzki and in the back row Tony Diprose comes in for Andre Vos. In the backs, an ankle injury to Ugo Monye means that Matt Moore gets the chance to continue his run of form.
Quins are obviously taking Brive very seriously despite Quins’ lead. They have selected the best backs combination available and have a very experienced pack.
I spoke to Samoan winger George Harder this week who is clearly enjoying his rugby at Quins. “I am enjoying my rugby at Quins. I knew Tani and Ace before I came here. I’ve enjoyed playing with the team and the whole management have been helpful. I’ve enjoyed Paul Turner’s coaching. He really like to work WITH us. Andre Vos is a great skipper as well. What better skipper could you have than one who leads by example. He really helps us out on the pitch.”
George had a couple of sparkling games at the beginning of the season and then had an injury that kept him out for a period. “It was a definite set back. I was just beginning to really enjoy my rugby when I got the injury. It’s great to be back. All of the team are on our toes at the moment because there are so many good young players coming through. No one’s place is guaranteed.”
Turning to Brive on Sunday, I said that the score did not necessarily reflect the danger that Brive posed Quins. “Definitely. The French teams are known for not playing well away from home but we knew not to underestimate them. I made a couple of tackles in the first half but I like to help out the forwards. It’s great to play in Europe because no team plays the same way. Where I come from we don’t travel very much for our rugby so this competition is good. We’re definitely not going to relax for this match. It’s going to be very tough.”
Brive have once again made a number of changes to their side. Argentinian prop Daniel Rodriguez starts at loose head prop and 27 year old ex Bourgoin hooker Jawad Djoudi is at hooker. Thick set tight head Pierre Capdeville is at tight head. Massive Canadian lock John Tait comes in for Aussie John Wellborn whilst second row Samuel Chinarro is selected again. The Brive back row remains unchanged. I was particularly impressed with Number Eight Simon Azoulai who continually crossed the gain line at The Stoop. Scrum half Valentin Courrent is partnered by ex Saracens Fly Half Alain Penaud. The Brive back line looked far more potent with Penaud marshalling the troops in the second half last Saturday. The impressive Brive centre pairing have been replaced by Nicholas Couttet and Ludovic Valbon. Harrague and Donguy are on the wing whilst exciting French Sevens specialist Nicholas Le Roux should add some pace and potency on the wing.
The first leg was an interesting affair with both teams showing attacking flair. Brive had been expected to play the ball through their forwards, but perhaps because they were continually playing catch up rugby, we saw a lot more of their backs. They showed us that they have a real cutting edge with their centres breaking through the Quins line of defence. The thing that stopped Brive turning this to their advantage was their inability to retain the ball in possession and the excellence of Quins in the tackle area where they continually turned over ball. Key moments for me last week were when George Harder twice in five minutes, stripped Brive of possession in the tackle when they were camped on the Quins’ line.
Quins will be awaiting an onslaught from Brive in the first twenty minutes of the match. The forecast is for a windy weekend so I can see Alain Penaud launching a few bombs Gavin Duffy’s way. I’m sure he has had plenty of experience of that coming from the West coast of Ireland. A French team on their own patch are a different proposition than the one Quins faced last week. If Quins can get a score in those first twenty minutes then they may be able to relax. If Brive cross the Quins line a couple of times in the first twenty minutes then it could be a nervous occasion. I think it will be a very tough match but Brive will have to force their rugby to make up that points difference. That may give Quins the opportunity to show their pace and ability to score from turnover ball…but expect a rough and tough encounter especially in that opening spell.
Brive: 15 Nicolas Leroux; 14 Julien Laharrague; 13 Ludovic Valbon; 12 Nicolas Couttet; 11 Yves Donguy; 10 Alain Penaud; 9 Valentin Courrent; 1 Daniel Rodriguez; 2 Jawad Djoudi; 3 Pierre Capdevielle; 4 John Tait; 5 Samuel Chinarro; 6 Alexandre Maleyrie; 7 Jérôme Bonvoisin; 8 Simon Azoulai
Replacements : 16 Yves Pedrosa 17 Eric Bouti 18 John Welborn 19 Emmanuel Amapakabo 20 Jean Baptiste Pejoine 21 Sebastien Laloo 22 Cedric Leite
NEC Harlequins: 15 Gavin Duffy; 14 George Harder; 13 Chris Bell; 12 Mel Deane; 11 Matt Moore; 10Paul Burke; 9 Simon Keogh; 1 Mike Worsley; 2 Tani Fuga; 3 Laurent Gomez; 4 Bill Davison; 5 Jim Evans; 6 Ace Tiatia; 7Pat Sanderson; 8 Tony Diprose
Replacements: 16 Ceri Jones; 17 Jason Leonard; 18 Karl Rudzki; 19 Roy Winters; 20 Andre Vos; 21 Andy Dunne 22. Scott Bemand