Will Quins Cup Floweth Over?

By KevT
December 20 2002

NEC Harlequins take on Leeds Tykes in the sixth round of the Powergen Cup on Saturday at the Stoop Memorial Ground (kick off 3.00pm). Quins will be looking to put a disappointing two leg result against Stade Francais in the Parker Pen Challenge behind them.

Quins welcome back from injury Nick Duncombe at scrum half who replaces Scott Bemand. Will Greenwood replaces Bill Satala. Ben Gollings returns from England Sevens duty and replaces Rob Jewell. Quins also have Alex Codling taking the place of Jim Evans at second row and Andre Vos returns from European ineligibility to take the place of Ace Tiatia.

Quins second row Alex Codling is pleased to return from injury. “After the Sarries game I put together a run of four or five matches and to be honest it’s been annoying being injured. Hopefully I can have a good run in the team now.”

“Everyone was very disappointed to lose in Europe last week, but they are one of the top teams in Europe. That said we did ourselves no favours in the first leg. I wasn’t in Paris but from what I hear it was pretty much the same thing. We had lots of possession, particularly in the first half, but didn’t convert it into points. They were the most disciplined French side I’ve seen.”

I asked Alex how important the Cup is to the team. “The Cup is massive. Quins are renowned as a Cup side and we’ve usually done very well in this competition. We’ve got three really big games in the next two weeks against Leeds, Bath away and Bristol at home. That will signify where we are going to end up this season.”

I then asked Alex about the Leeds side. “Tom Palmer is a good player. He got capped in the US a couple of years ago. I’m looking forward to my encounter with him. Mark Regan has made a real difference this season. Leeds have really gelled as a unit this season. They’re physical up front and if you make mistakes then Van Straatam will punish you.”

Quins lost a very disappointing match at home in the League to Leeds at the beginning of the season. I’ll leave it to the erudite Weststander to describe what was a very disappointing defeat.

“The match itself promised much and delivered little. It was a scrappy and fairly low-key event throughout with Leeds edging the Try count 3-2, and the points 23-33. Our visitors had a game plan, and it worked perfectly. Leeds Director of Rugby, Phil Davies, admitted before the game that he was looking for any sort of proof that they could compete away from home, and in the post match conference revealed that emphasis on training last week was on the scrum and trying to unsettle our experienced front three. It would not have gone unnoticed by the former Welsh International that the visitors crucial third try came from intense pressure from said scrum. Two more trys from the Leagues top scorer - Dan Scarborough - confirming his growing reputation, with the third coming from Cameron Mather with the 'scrum steal' right at the end. Harlequins scores coming from a debut try from Viliame Satala and Will Greenwood’s first of the season, with Paul Burke kicking two conversions and three Penalties (missing one). A tight match ultimately won at the death by a Leeds side that have worked very hard to prevent a repeat of last season basement finish.”

Leeds themselves were disappointed to draw on Saturday against Pontypridd 17 – 17. This meant that they exited the Parker Pen Cup losing 42 – 56 on aggregate. In fact the Tykes lost their previous two legaue matches at home to Wasps 15 –18 and away at Gloucester 10 –28. This has been their worst run of the season. Leeds willmiss the pace of Albanese and Hall on the wing. In September, Scarborough and Albanese in particular caused Quins a number of problems. Van Straatam made a couple of very good breaks at inside centre and kicked brilliantly throughout the game. Mark Regan has been a revelation this season at hooker and we should see a real battle between Palmer and Codling at second row.

In the last match Leeds tried to put pressure on Quins scrum without success until the final couple of minutes. A crucial feature of the match will be if Mike Shelly plays as he has been out for a couple of weeks.

The Quins team playing Saturday will be the strongest that they have been able to pick all season. This will be the first match that Nick Duncombe, Paul Burke and Will Greenwood have played together all season. Duncombe was playing very well in matches against Bath and Saracens and then he got injured in the first minute against Wasps. His speed of pass and threat around the fringes will take a lot of pressure off Burke and Greenwood. Bill Satala has paid the price of disappointing form and sits on the bench whilst the impressive Chris Bell gets the chance at centre.

That said, it must have been a very difficult decision to pick the back row this week. It must have been tempting to drop Tiatia given Van Straatam’s ability with the boot and Ace’s high penalty count. A key difference between Saturday’s match and the match earlier in the season could be the presence of Andre Vos in the back row. His constant leadership and example on the pitch have made the difference in games against Wasps and Saracens.

Quins lost both of their matches in the European Shield but played one of the strongest sides in Europe. They may find it a little easier to unlock Leeds defence than Stade Francais.

I’m really looking forward to this match. The key differences for me are the return of Duncombe and Vos’ presence. Leeds were in great form at the beginning of the season but seem to have slipped off a bit recently. I take Quins to win this tight match by less than a converted score.


NEC Harlequins: 15. Nathan Williams 14. Matt Moore 13. Will Greenwood 12. Chris Bell 11. Ben Gollings 10. Paul Burke 9. Nick Duncombe 1. Jason Leonard (Capt.) 2. Tani Fuga 3. Laurent Gomez 4. Bill Davison 5. Alex Codling 6. Andre Vos 7. Pat Sanderson 8. Tony Diprose

Replacements:
16. Keith Wood 17. Jon Dawson 18. Jim Evans 19. Ace Tiatia 20. Scott Bemand 21. Viliame Satala 22. Rob Jewell

15. Dan Scarborough; 14. Winston Stanley; 13.Tristan Davies; 12.Braam Van Straatam; 11. Craig Emerson; 10. Gordon Ross; 9. Derek Hegarty 1. Mike Shelley (Capt.) 2. Mark Regan 3. Matt Holt 4. Stewart Campbell ; 5. Tom Palmer 6. Cameron Mather; 7. Dan Hyde 8. Isaac Feaunati