Preview: Wasps v Harlequins
By Worried of Whitton
March 6 2008
Barring adverse weather conditions this weekend be it hail, wind, rain, sleet, snow, blazing sun, power cuts, leaves on the line, sheep on the pitch or even a plague of locusts, it is very likely that London Wasps will actually be able to play a rugby match this weekend Harlequins travel to High Wycombe for what is loosely described as a London Derby, kick off at Adams Park is at 15.00 on Sunday March 9th.
I think we all have just about recovered from one of the most thrilling matches seen at The Stoop in many years. Last Saturday was certainly by far, the best match this season.
This weekend Wasps will be short of a number of first choice, international players, notably Vickery, Shaw, Sackey and Reddan who are tied up on Six Nations Duty with Haskell, Rees, Voyce, Hoadley, Skivington and Flutey who are injured. It is reported that Flutey has been in full training this week, and therefore he play well play this weekend. If he is not picked it is possible that we may see Jeremy Staunton, back at Wasps on loan until the end of the season from London Irish. The drunken Wasps supporters site are already preparing themselves for a defeat this weekend by claiming the “lucky’ole Quins” will benefit form these absences. Whilst there may be some credibility in this, we should not forget that Wasps will line up with the Dallaglio, who can certainly influence the outcome of a game alongside Ibanez. Interestingly their prediction league has 59% going for a home win with 41% expecting a draw; no away win is predicted. With Quins turnaround over the past few weeks, after coming out of their winter hibernation, despite a Sunday kick off and the vagaries of negotiating the High Wycombe traffic system, which is even more congested than Wasps fixture list, there has been a great deal of renewed interest in this game by Quins supporters. This match has the same air of anticipation that we saw in the run up to last weekend’s sensational match against Gloucester, Quins are surely on a roll! I believe there are still some seats left on the Quinssa coach.
Those who brave the elements of the Chilterns micro climate, however, will be able to watch England’s best full back in action as well as a more consummate, all round winger as Mike Brown and Ugo Monye takes to the field. Despite being part of the England training squad it is assumed that England rising scrum half Danny Care, will also start this weekend, and injuries aside it is expected that Harlequins will name the same side that beat Worcester and Saracens in recent Weeks. Nick Easter will of course be with England.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | PD | BP | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gloucester Rugby | 15 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 376 | 270 | +106 | 9 | 49 |
| 2 | Leicester Tigers | 15 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 365 | 262 | +103 | 7 | 47 |
| 3 | Bath Rugby | 14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 342 | 255 | +87 | 6 | 46 |
| 4 | Sale Sharks | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 291 | 239 | +52 | 5 | 41 |
| 5 | Harlequins | 14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 308 | 298 | +10 | 8 | 40 |
| 6 | Saracens | 15 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 330 | 297 | +33 | 6 | 38 |
| 7 | London Irish | 14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 273 | 258 | +15 | 4 | 36 |
| 8 | London Wasps | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 312 | 273 | +39 | 6 | 34 |
| 9 | Newcastle Falcons | 13 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 221 | 287 | -66 | 3 | 27 |
| 10 | Bristol Rugby | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 240 | 293 | -53 | 4 | 25 |
| 11 | Worcester Warriors | 15 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 232 | 326 | -94 | 6 | 16 |
| 12 | Leeds Carnegie | 14 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 220 | 452 | -232 | 2 | 6 |
The two sides last met back in October at The Stoop in an end to end ding dong of a match which Quins eventually won 26-25. Hindsight shows that this was the start of Quins winter of discontent, as their performance declined. In contrast Wasps, who had a wretched start to the season, began to improve, and despite being out of the Heineken Cup, have lost just once in their last seven Guinness Premiership matches, narrowly beating Bristol at Adams Park 32-30 on February 23rd. Last weekend they suffered another postponement away at Newcastle, and therefore have not played for two weeks. Harlequins appear to be mounting a serious push to improve their premiership position. The thrilling win against Gloucester saw them move up to fifth spot, with 40 points, three places above Wasps in eighth on 34 points and who have a game in hand. As the table shows this season has been the closest for many years, the gap that the top three have opened up is not that great, just a bonus point win, with the gap between the teams below in fourth to seventh also having the same margin. Not only would a win for Harlequins this weekend see them “do the double” over Wasps for the first time in five years it will also ensure they remain in the lower half of the Premiership where they have been all season.
The euphoria of last weekend continues, so many champagne moments. The sound of the chanting fans at The Stoop last Saturday will remain for some time to come, as will the “assistance” by Binky in helping Paul Ackford complete his match report in the Lexus Stand. So many superlatives to describe the Quins performance were shouted at him, that he had to stop look up and acknowledge the feedback with a chuckle, hence his report under the title “Quins delight in toppling leaders”, started with “given the celebration at the end, you could have been forgiven for thinking that Harlequins had won the Premiership itself.” Great stuff, but that was last week, we will be looking for another performance like, and to have learnt from the mistakes to ensure that we come away with our fourth win in a row.
You’ve not seen nothing like the
Mighty Quins!
Other matches this weekend:
| Date | Time | Match |
|---|---|---|
| Round 15 | ||
| Sat 8th Mar 08 | 13:00 | Bath Rugby v Newcastle Falcons* |
| Sat 8th Mar 08 | 15:00 | Gloucester Rugby** v London Irish |
| Sat 8th Mar 08 | 17:00 | Worcester Warriors** v Leicester Tigers** |
| Sun 9th Mar 08 | 15:00 | Leeds Carnegie v Bristol Rugby |
| Sun 9th Mar 08 | 15:00 | London Wasps* v Harlequins |
| Sun 9th Mar 08 | 15:00 | Saracens** v Sale Sharks |
* Round 14 for Wasps and Newcastle
**Round 16 for Worcester, Gloucester, Leicester and Saracens
