The Best Laid Plans

By Chris Chaplin
March 18 2004

Next Friday sees Quins and Tigers meet in a fixture that should have been played in the early Autumn of 2003 and that is now set to eventually take place on an early Spring evening in 2004. I wonder if all the mind games and machinations will have been worthwhile.

When this fixture was first set it was for playing on a Wednesday evening in mid October last year. At that time Quins were looking to be possible Championship Play-off contenders and Tigers were just starting to have a premonition of what the season had in store for them, having lost to Sale at home and Gloucester away following two wins and a draw in the opening three weeks of the season.

It was at this point that our blazered pals in boardrooms around the country went along with the idea of playing through the Six Nations, a half baked idea and decision that still baffles me.

The decision was initially taken to play the fixture on Saturday 14 February but somewhat inexplicably Dean Richards felt Friday 19 March to be a better date. Subsequent events saw both Tigers and Quins dumped out of the Powergen and so suddenly other options to play the game on a Saturday reappeared and an approach was made to Quins to move the fixture to 28 February, a suggestion that Quins rejected as they had other things to do on that day!! Although quite what professional rugby teams have to do on a Saturday apart from play rugby is a matter of some bafflement.

Back then I asked this very question on the Quins website and the general opinion seemed to be that Quins wanted to visit Welford Road with our internationals missing and at that time, back in December, that could have well meant the exclusion of at least the “Magnificent Seven”. How ironic then that in the interim when so much has changed that it is likely that while Quins will be without Greenwood, Monya, Bell, Reay, Jarvis and Parker all of whom are engaged in various representative duties, of those in contention for first team selection at Tigers there will be just three absentees in the form of Ben Kay, Julian White and Geordan Murphy, with the latter two being prematurely called in to their respective national squads, both having just returned from lengthy layoffs due to injuries.

Neither side will have played a full on competitive match for some weeks when they meet although Tigers have had a couple of pipe opening friendlies against the Barbarians and Northampton. Quins’ last Premiership fixture was against Wasps on 22 February while Tigers last played against London Irish in the premier domestic competition on the previous day.

Way back then Wasps just squeaked by Quins with the last play of the game that saw Erinle burst through the depleted Quins ranks, their having been reduced to fourteen men for the second time in the match, to score a powerful try which Mark VanGisbergen duly converted to take the match by a very tight margin, just had Quins had done in their previous match when they pipped Sarries 12 – 10.

Tigers achieved what many thought was impossible and that was to win away with such experiences being strictly limited this term to that at Millmoor when they joined the ranks of those adding to the misery of Rotherham prior to that the previous away victory had been way back in the Winter of 2003 against Fridays’ opposition down at The Stoop.

Both the February games are becoming somewhat lost in the mists of time but having seen them both and taken a few notes I am able to recall the Quins/Wasps affair as being a very curious occasion with Quins rocking the champions with a ferocious first half attacking display that must have stirred the blood of those present on that chilly Winter’s evening at the Causeway Stadium.

The start of the match was a very disjointed affair but overall Quins prevailed and showed the pace of close season signing Irishman Simon Keogh who started the move that saw the 125 express otherwise known as Ugo Monye open Quins account. My man of the match, the wonderful George Harder, put in a typically robust performance, Hardman by name and hard man by nature, mind you his tackling style, when Quins had to man the redoubts in the second half was, at times, very reminiscent of that of our own Freddie Tuilagi as he repeatedly crunched the Wasps midfield players. Gorgeous George (as the ladies apparently call him) set up Pat Sanderson after the winger brushed off some unconvincing defence work by the champs. Sanderson was later the recipient of another great set up by Ugo Monye enabling him to produce a brace of scores.

Quins were, in times passed, perhaps thought to lack steel but anybody who saw them defend for 40 minutes and employ every trick in the book (had Tigers played thus it would doubtless have been seen as streetwise and cynical)would have seen the paucity of this argument nowadays and it was only when they were again reduced to fourteen men as Gomez became the second Quin to have a rest, and given a further unpunished transgression by ex Gloucester man Rudzki to follow that which saw him spend the end of the first half reading Rugby World, it could very easily have been thirteen, that their resolve finally cracked in the closing seconds of the game.

I was left to wonder at the wisdom of Mark Evans and John Kingston making such wholesale changes to the pack late on as while the starting line up were certainly tiring they still looked a cohesive defensive unit and perhaps sticking with them or making the odd change might have served the spangled ones better.

Tigers, just 24 hours earlier had acquitted themselves well against London Irish with Gibson’s lovely looping run generating a well deserved try to add to the four penalties and a drop goal from Andy Goode, who again started at fullback. The Tigers pack simply steamrollered the Irish, Darren Morris joining with Dorian West and Graham Rowntree in something of a tour de force. The Tigers lineout was still not functioning well, much as was the case with Wasps the following day, but in spite of this it was good enough to give Tigers copious amounts of possession and go forward ball such as has been a rarity for much of the season.

I suppose the most notable other event, other than a win, was the return of Geordan Murphy, who due to an early injury to Dan Hipkiss played an unexpected 80 minutes and while looking to regain his pace he otherwise looked none the worse for his ordeal.

With gritty and resolute defence likely from both the combatants this Friday’s fixture could be a real cracker.

Tigers of course are desperate for points to ensure participation in the Wildcard competition while Quins, in fifth and now ten points adrift of Gloucester but with a game in hand over their West Country rivals, will want to ensure that Irish, just one point behind them and also on sixteen games, do not overtake although in spite of Bath’s international absentees, the record crowd due at the MadStad and the general post St Patrick’s Day merriment, it’s hard to see the leaders succumbing. Nevertheless neither of Friday’s sides can afford a slip up as Tigers must also make their game in hand count knowing that close competitors Leeds and Sarries both sit behind them just a single point adrift.

A win for Tigers would take them to within one or two points of Newcastle who are six points away in eighth place and it would set up the match at Kingston Park on 4 April very nicely with the prospect of Tigers being able to end the day in eighth and in firmer contention for the Wildcard.

That’s all to come though, first it’s home and away against our old pals Quins who have so often been Tigers’ Nemesis but who, last season, Tigers denied a place in the Wildcard final.

Given the splendid showing from the Quins front five against Wasps it’s hard to imagine that Mark Evans will want to ring too many changes although with lock Jim Evans now recovered from the unenviable combination of a persistent shoulder injury and food poisoning that kept him from the engine room last time he could be preferred to both Rudzki and Winters as partner to the experienced ex Hawkes Bay player Bill Davison. As they be facing Johnno and the emerging talent of Louis Deacon an experienced pairing could be the best option for the Londoners in an area where the Tigers should otherwise have the edge.

In the front row Samoan Tani Fuga put in a typical barnstorming performance at The Causeway Stadium a month ago and it would be something of a surprise if he did not keep his place and partner bus pass holder Jason Leonard, who I’m sure will get a rousing welcome as he joins his pensioner pals at Welford Road. On the other side of the scrum probably sometime England man Mike Worsley will appear and he will need to be closely watched in the loose where he can cause all sorts of trouble as of course can Tani Fuga. An interesting combination here as two of the front row go off enjoying themselves leaving the old boy at home to keep the fire in the boiler running red hot!

With Julian White already otherwise engaged the combination of Rowntree, West and the continually improving Darren Morris will start. I think that from a scrummaging perspective the Tigers trio should just have the edge with the mobility stakes in open play just about even unless Morris starts to throw himself around the park as he did in days of yore with the Lions and Wales and which we have not seen too much of as he concentrates on getting the basics just right.

There is no doubt that Andre Vos has provided the mortar that has enabled Quins to improve their defensive play with the Springbok being one of the best operators around in a league bursting with back-row talent. Pat Sanderson was also very impressive against Wasps with some excellent defence and superb support play, rather like Backy I suspect that if his team-mates look over their shoulder they expect to see Sanderson there. This high class trio is completed by, for my money, one of the best all round footballers in the league and it’s still a mystery why Tony Diprose didn’t get more than his dozen starts for England.

Tigers will have newly retired Mr Back with Martin Corry in close attendance who should also give some further options at the line out, although I hope against hope that the ball will not be called long too often, if at all or at least if and until Tigers are a couple of scores ahead. Blindside remains a bit of a conundrum between Balding, Johnson junior and Henry Tuilagi but Henry gets the nod any of the other contenders would do a good job.

This is going to be a very combative area but I expect to see Back dominate around the breakdown and tackle area while Quins could well have the edge in open play, defensively I don’t think there’s much to choose.

Overall then I see the packs being closely matched with Tigers probably edging the set pieces and breakdown but with the Quins being superior in open play.

When it comes to the back division I am told by the helpful people at Quins that Paul Burke’s return after injury is a distinct possibility in which case Andy Dunne will drop back to the bench with ex Moseley player Scott Bemand coming in at scrum half while Simon Keogh switches to the wing to replace the electrifying Ugo Monye.

Ellis plays on Friday and I would expect him to dominate Bemand in the close exchanges with his sparky demeanour likely to be too much for the more workmanlike Quins scrum-half.

New Welford Road favourite Jaco will line up opposite Paul Burke who is expected back and there could not be two players with more opposite styles. In Burke Quins have the master tactician likely to pin Tigers back in their own 22 for long periods given the chance and representing a true Golden Boot option for his side, likely to severely punish any transgression. Not the greatest of playmakers though and as a consequence promising possession can be too often kicked away with the out players thinking that they should have made use of their library tickets for long periods of the game.

Tigers’ Springbok centre on the other hand uses his boot for attacking rather than containment purposes, usually seeking to keep the ball alive he also runs some good lines for himself and his team-mates.

With a tightly fought battle in the forwards I suspect that the possession gained will be more productively used by Jaco while Burke will concentrate on having the game played as near to the Tigers line as possible even at the expense of maintaining control of the vital pill.

With Will Greenwood and Andy Reay both absent the probable Quins starting pair in the centre are newly returned from injury and bench occupant against Wasps, Tongan international Josh Taumalolo, who was another close season purchase, this time from Bridgend. The robust Tongan has made ten appearances since arriving at the highlife that is downtown Twickenham but has yet to cross the whitewash for his new club so he’ll be relishing the chance to do so at Welford Road.

Taumalolo will be partnered by ex Sale player Mel Deane for whom I have a great regard and it was something of a mystery to me, and probably to them too now in the light of recent events, why Sale let this fine player trek down south. During his time at Heywood Road, his not having enjoyed the dubious delights of Edgeley Park, I saw him demonstrate his eye for a line through the opposition defence on a number of occasions and I’m looking forward to again seeing this pacey and under rated player.

I am told that Daryl Gibson, scorer of a fine try at London Irish and Leon Lloyd will form the centre combination for Tigers, the reasoning for which continues to elude most supporters but I understand that when at the England camp Ollie spent most of his time at wing – that’s alright then! I am less than convinced by this persistence with Lloyd at 13 but it seems that he and the club feel he has had a fine season in that position. Clearly they have been at different games than have I. I hope Leon does well but with this transposition I think that the Quins pairing will have a better chance than should have been the case and Deane may well expose the 13/12 channel to good effect.

With Simon Keogh moving to the wing in place of Monye Quins are sure to miss the youngsters’ raw pace out wide but Keogh will be strong defensively and he’s no slouch in the running stakes either, so I hoped that fit again Neil Baxter would be on parade to test him, he’s certainly good enough for Joe Lydon. Baxter’s silky running and pace could just have undone the ex Leinster man while the ex Salford Reds player has not been found wanting defensively since his stealthy arrival. Instead Keogh will face out of position Ollie Smith who will be no push over but given how well he played in tandem with Gibson at London Irish this does smack of fixing what ain’t broke to make way for Lloyd.

The other wing is an entirely different proposition with one of my favourite wingers, Samoan George Harder on parade. Why on earth did Leeds let this one get away? Difficult to fault this player and if there’s nothing doing out wide expect to see him playing closer in and augmenting what could be a pressurised midfield for the Quins. The danger man for me is without doubt George, tacklers miss him at your peril. I wonder if he’s ever thought of Leicester as a place to live, we’ve quite a Samoan connection after all!

Oz is currently due to start although he would probably be better coming on from the bench late on as by all accounts he is not yet at his best. I had hoped that Steve Booth would reappear to provide an all ex league wing pairing for Tigers, he is tricky and slippery enough to evade the death grip of George Harder which is preferable to trying to run through him. Oz could have a difficult time facing Harder especially at below peak form. Again I hope he does well but he’s going to have to have made significant progress during the past six days.

Andy Goode has done a reasonable job at full back although he does, to be absolutely fair, look like a fly-half playing out of position but his kicking will need to be in the higher reaches of the percentages in a match where I expect the respective packs to leak penalties so it could be down to him and Paul Burke as to which team eventually prevails.

Against Wasps Gavin Duffy was again at full back continuing his constant presence in the Quins side since his arrival from Connacht last summer. He did not have his best day against Wasps with his usual reliability under the high ball suddenly becoming a memory and his kicking out of hand was erratic but the 22 year old Irishman has not otherwise done much wrong since his arrival in south west London and so I expect him to start and for Tigers to test his confidence under the Garryowen early on to see if the month that has passed since the Wasps game has encouraged the worm of doubt to burrow deep into his confidence.

Four in a row then? OK I know two of the last three wins have been friendlies but this season any win is welcome.

Without being too gung ho about the prospects I’ll go for a home win by the odd few points against the new style dogged Quins although the Tigers’ 11., 13 and 14 worries me and worries me a lot!