Calvisano Home

Well should have we expected anything else than a 5 point win against a lowly Italian side? The answer is no, we should not. You still have to do the job though and we seemingly did it in a reasonably successful manner. Scoring eight tries in an away match in Europe should never be disregarded, whatever opposition we may be playing. As I was unable to make the trip to Italy and also find highlights for the game, I cannot make any specific comments on the game but I’m glad we got through it relatively unscathed. My slight irritation was that we conceded a try against such a poor outfit. I know we scored 8 of our own, but if we want to be the best we cannot be giving tries to these types of team. Would Saracens concede a try against them? I don’t think they would. 

Personally I was more interested in seeing the result of the other pool match between Cardiff and Montpellier. This was to see if we could be qualified by the time we have to play them both in January. However, it was a slightly irritating result as Cardiff got a bonus point win, whilst Montpellier picked up a point for tries. It could have been worse; Montpellier could have got two points I guess. Ideally, in the reverse fixture between them, we want Montpellier to win the game by more than seven but not scoring 4 or more tries in the process. This would leave us 10 points clear at the top, and effectively qualified. This should leave us well placed too for a home quarterfinal.

Team selections 

I think there will be a few changes to the team that played away in Italy last weekend. Firstly, I saw on my Twitter feed that Visser was off by a pool so I can presume he wont be available this weekend. It would mean that he will be replace by Walker on the left wing, whilst Swiel and Chisholm continue in their positions of last week. I heard that Yarde was targeting a return in these European matches so we may see an appearance from the bench if he is ready. In the centres, I expect Hopper to continue at 13, giving Lowe a rest, but at 12 we should see the most anticipated signing since Evans makes his Quins debut, Jamie Roberts. He did pick up a minor dead leg, but I expect him to recover to get some sort of game time to settle in. Then I would start Evans at 10 and I’ll tell you why. I think it would be best if we try and create that link between Evans and Roberts as soon as possible, and rather than throw them together against Gloucester, it would make sense to see them together now. This would mean Botica dropping to the bench. At 9, I think Tedaldi deserves a start ahead of Dickson. 

In the pack, there could be few changes too. In the front row, I expect Lambert and Buchanan to continue, but Collier will probably be rotated with Sinckler. In the second row, I don’t want to see Horwill risked if necessary and therefore it should be Matthews starting with the returning Merrick, who will hopefully show the same development as Twomey has this season. In the back row, it is reported that Wallace went off injured so he wont be risked, which will probably have to mean Ward starts in the back row with Clifford and White (for those who made the trip to Italy, anyone have any information on Whites performance???) 

My Quins Teams; Lambert, Buchanan, Sinckler, Merrick, Matthews, White, Ward, Clifford (c); Tebaldi, Evans, Walker, Roberts, Hopper, Chisholm, Swiel 


I don’t think we’ll see anything too competitive on Saturday and the main hope will be that we don’t pick up any injuries, especially in the back five of the pack!!! The main talking point of the match will obviously be the debut of Roberts, however I want to see us stick to the way we’ve been playing and let him adapt to us. It will be interesting to see how we use him. I think having him in the team will allow Evans and co. to flourish with extra space as it is only natural for opposition players to be concerned by Roberts (he is a British & Irish Lion after all!). 

I really want us to show of ruthless edge and not allow them to get a try and, if possible, stay disciplined and not allow them a sniff of anything. In terms of our attack, the obvious first target is the try bonus point, which we got within the first 25 minutes. After we have achieved that, I would like us to go on and at least match the Montpellier points and tries against Calvisano, which was 64 and 10 respectively. Once again I think most of our interest will be elsewhere and on the other result in the group. I expect a win and a big win at that! COYQs!! 

My Prediction; Quins 67 Calvisano 0