Quins to Rec Bath Resurgence
By KevT
December 27 2002
NEC Harlequins take on Bath at the Recreation Ground on Saturday 28th January (Kick Off 2.15pm) in front of a sell out crowd. Quins haven’t won an away match all season and will be looking to change that record on Saturday
At the time of publication, the team sheet wasn’t available, but (injuries allowing) I expect to see just two changes team that beat Leeds Tykes in the Powergen Cup on Saturday: I expect Keith Wood to replace Tani Fuga at hooker and Dan Luger may well be ready to return from eight months of injury, and if so I guess he would replace Matt Moore.
Paul Turner, Quins backs coach is looking forward to the confrontation. “Bath are a good side. I watched them when our match with Bristol was postponed a few weeks ago. They were unlucky to lose at home to Leeds.”
“Bath have strong players in their backs in Mike Catt, Matt Perry and Iain Balshaw. I always enjoy the trip to the Rec and it will be a tough match.”
In the preceding match at the Stoop in November, Quins beat Bath 18–9 at a rain soaked Stoop. Tries from Will Greenwood and Matt Moore and two penalties and a conversion from Nathan Williams saw Quins take four points and moved them to seventh in the Zurich Premier League where they still currently stand. Bath scored three penalties from the boot of Ollie Barkley.
Coach Mark Evans wasn’t entirely happy with the performance. “I thought we should have beaten them by more. For the first twenty minutes we were so bad it wasn’t funny. We only started to play in the last sixty minutes after Billy Davison was sin binned. But I don’t want to be too critical as conditions were terrible.”
Bath are likely to make changes to the team that beat Wasps in Wycombe last Saturday. Mike Catt is likely to be fit and play at Fly Half. Catt has played virtually no rugby in the last two months so may be a bit rusty. That said those who were there at the Rec last season saw him score a superb try. Quins back row cannot afford to give him any space. Maggs and Tindall were very disappointing at the Stoop. They play in too similar a way. Danielli played quite well but has been found out with his lack of a real winger’s place. Balshaw has made a real difference to Bath in recent matches. He will have to be watched closely. The only question surrounding him is whether the injury to his shoulder that kept him out for so long and that saw him go off at half time on Saturday will be playing on his mind.
Bath’s major weakness in the past few matches has been their scrum. The arrival of French International Gallasso (rumoured to be on higher wages than Mike Catt) has done nothing to strengthen their pack. He has rarely lasted beyond fifty minutes of a match and came on from the bench last week. Quins should be able to get an advantage there with Leonard, Wood and Gomez up front. The area where Bath have really improved since November has been the return from injury of Adam Vander at Open Side Flanker. He has been a revelation for Bath since his return and will give the Quins back row a run for their money. He is a traditional open side flanker trying to snaffle and turn over ball.
I know that Alex Colding is looking forward to taking on Danny Grewcock and Steve Borthwick in the line out. Alex had a really good game against them at the Stoop. Nick Duncombe looked a bit rusty last week against Leeds and will want to recapture some of his form. Scrum Half Gareth Cooper has been receiving mixed reviews at Bath and Duncombe will be looking to reprise his man of the match performance against them. It is in the back row where Quins have really excelled this season. The outcome of the match up in this area could decide the match. I’ve already highlighted how well Vander has been playing but the performance of the Bath blind side and number eight positions has come in for some criticism from their supporters. Quins have Andre Vos and the in form Tony Diprose in these positions.
This is a big match for both teams. Quins are lying in seventh place and a win would push them towards a Heineken Cup spot. A loss would mean others would (probably) overtake them. Although Bath are in eleventh place they are only seven points behind Quins. A win for them is vital to push them away from Newcastle.
I think Quins have the edge up front especially in the scrum. The lineout will probably end up fairly even. Quins will try to outmuscle Bath up front try and then get the ball out wide quickly after sucking in Bath’s cover. Quins have a lot more fire power out wide. Quins will also use their back row to put pressure on a ring rusty Mike Catt. Bath will be dangerous in open play and may use their centres to set up quick phases of play. They will try to get Vander to turnover ball quickly and attack Quins through their mobile pack around the fringes setting up quick ball for their backs.
I think Quins will carry the day through their strength up front. They must try to retain possession and clear the rucks better than they have. Quick phases mean they have more of a chance of giving Greenwood and the Quins wings more space. Quins edge in the scrum will also help them with this. If Quins turn over ball then Bath will come into their own. One thing will be certain. It will be a close game.
Bath: (Possible) 15. Balshaw, 14. Danielli, 13. Barkley, 12. Tindall, 11.Maggs, 10.Catt, 9. Cooper 1. Barnes, 2. Humphreys, 3. Mallett, 4. Borthwick, 5. Grewcock, 6. G.Thomas, 7. Vander 8. N.Thomas
NEC Harlequins (Possible): 15. Nathan Williams; 14.Dan Luger; 13. Will Greenwood; 12. Chris Bell; 11. Ben Gollings; 10. Paul Burke; 9. Nick Duncombe;1. Jason Leonard; 2. Keith Wood; 3. Laurent Gomez; 4. Bill Davison; 5. Alex Codling; 6. Andre Vos (Capt.); 7. Pat Sanderson; 8. Tony Diprose
Replacements: 16. Tani Fuga; 17. Jon Dawson; 18. Jim Evans; 19. Ace Tiatia; 20. Scott Bemand; 21. Viliame Satala; 22. Matt Moore