Last Chance Saloon at the Gardens?

That was incredibly disappointing wasn’t it? No energy, no tempo. Not one positive can be taken from last week’s game, apart from the fact we managed to come away with a losing bonus point in a game that we probably shouldn’t have got anything. I really thought we would kick on from a good victory against Bath and have a real fight about us, but it was Worcester that looked more pumped for the game, and we never got near them really. Saying that, we lost by 6 points when Worcester scored a try in very controversial circumstances. For me, you cannot put your flag up as touch judge unless you are 100%certain that the player was in touch, but to put the flag up and then quickly down again is a disgrace. Regardless of whether CMK says play on or not, the Quins players clearly stopped as they thought a lineout had been signaled. Cheeseman should not have thrown the ball back into play like that but still the referees got it wrong for me. I actually like CMK as a referee, and I think he has potential to become a very good one but I thought there was a real arrogance in way he handled himself on Saturday and I don’t think that is a very good trait to have as a ref. But anyway time to move on and try and push on for the rest of the season as the season is certainly not over yet. 

This is the state of play in the top 8 of the premiership with 5 games remaining; 
1) Exeter- 59 points 
2) Saracens- 57 
3) Wasps- 53 
4) Leicester 49 
5) Northampton- 46 
6) Harlequins- 44 
7) Gloucester- 39 
8) Sale- 38 (game in hand) 

Whilst we have thrown away a lot of points this season, but we still are in the mix for top 4 despite the horrendous run of results. This has to change this weekend or we will be out of the race for the top 4 because the game is against Northampton at Franklins Gardens. Northampton have turned the corner during the 6 Nations period and have been able to get themselves back into contention for the top 4. This was all after a horrendous start to the season and them looking like they were going to have a similar season to what Bath are having. They have had some good result recently, including a good victory away at Saracens. But last week they threw away a 12-3 lead down at Sandy Park against Exeter and ended up not even getting a bonus point. Obviously the reverse fixture will be right in the memory of the Quins players, after Botica failed to kick the ball out after the 80 minutes and Northampton snatched an undeserved victory at the Stoop. How we were not further ahead in that game, I do not know but that could be a crucial game in deciding where we finish. But now, we have a chane to get revenge… 

Now, I was thinking Northampton have been also missing a lot of players like us due the international break, but I was surprised to work out that from the team that lost down at Exeter only Hartley and North were away on international duty, as Hill and Lawes were both released back to them. So this could be a reason why they have turned the corner, due to the fact that they have not been hit as hard by international call up as other teams. Obviously, if North returns we are going to have to watch him carefully, but if he is not then we need to watch young Mallinder who has really stepped up recently. In the pack, Harrison has been one of the finds of the season. He is a really abrasive ball-carrier and he is good over the ball. 

Team Selections 
This is a must win game for Quins and that should mean that all the internationals should return straight away to the side. So I think we will see Marler, Care, Clifford, Brown, Visser and Roberts return to the starting XV. Wallace has been in great form and deserves to keep his place, so I think he will start at 7 and Clifford will come in at 6 as he is fresher than Robshaw due to his limited involvement in the 6 Nations. Then at 8, I would start (perhaps controversially) Luamanu because I think his ball carrying is key to us and I think Easter needs a rest. Also I would look to recall Jones for Sinckler to sure up the scrum. Then I think the backline picks itself and all the first choice players should return. The only selection debate for me is who should start at 14 due to Yarde being injured. I would go for Walker because of his try scoring record and his improved defence in recent week. Chisholm is unfortunately not consistent enough for me. 

My Quins team to play Northampton; Marler, Ward, Jones, Twomey, Horwill, Clifford, Wallace, Luamanu; Care (c), Botica, Visser, Roberts, Lowe, Walker, Brown. 
(God it is good to write out a team with those players back!!!!!!) 

Northampton team vs Exeter; 
(15-9)Foden; K Pisi, G Pisi, Mallinder, Tuala; Hanrahan, Dickson (capt.); (1-8)Waller, Haywood, Hill, Craig, Day, Harrison, Gibson, Fisher. 

As I mentioned they will have Hartley and North returning. I think North will return to start but Hartley will be used from the bench ( if he is allowed to after his horrendous head injury in France) because they rate Haywood very highly down at the Gardens. Lawes and Burrell have both been out injured still so they may not feature, though Burrell has a small chance of being fit after a minor thigh strain. I expect also Myler to come in for Hanrahan as I think they will look to dominate field position and territory. 

Well this is the season here folks. We win, and we put ourselves right back into the mix for top 4, but if we lose I think we can kiss goodbye all hopes of a top 4 finish with the limited number of games left. I actually think this is a very difficult game for Northampton to prepare for because of the number of players we have returning and I think with this side we are still a bit of an unknown. We have basically only seen this team together twice this season against Gloucester and then Saracens, and we all know what happened in that Sarries game. We are still the only team to beat a full strength Sarries side which looked unbeatable according to some. The side should be pretty similar to that side that got that famous victory. If we play with the intensity, pace and power that we did that day, I don’t think that Northampton will be able to live with us. I am hoping with Care and Roberts returning around Botica that he can really flourish with experience around him. Roberts is a huge returnee as I think he was one of the star players of the 6 Nations and we have seen that if we use him correctly, teams cannot handle him even when they know that he is coming. When I look at the two sides and compare them, I cannot see many areas of the pitch where they have an advantage. Remember we got very close (well we should have won) to Northampton when we were missing a lot more players than they were which should give us confidence. 

In past seasons we have gone to Franklins Garden and have been bullied and not been able to handle the physicality of their side. But I think for the first time I can remember, we can go there feeling confident we can compete with their side physically. Also remember, it is only the 6 Nations period in which Northampton have looked a lot stronger, as in the first part of the season they were made to look very ordinary at points in some losses, especially against Wasps. 

Well whilst writing this I have become more and more confident that we can get a win. It is obviously not going to be easy as they will know that they can effectively make it a two horse race for the final playoff spot if they beat us and also it is never easy when going to Northampton! But I think a lot of people, including us fans, have forgotten how good we are when we are at full strength. Yes the last 8 weeks have been tough but they are over now, and we now have a chance to show the true Harlequins. I am optimistic we can still achieve things this season and so should my fellow Quins fans reading this. This is though probably last chance saloon domestically, but that doesn’t mean we cannot be confident. This is a similar scenario to 2013/14 season and we did it then so there is no reason why we cannot this time. 

My score prediction; Northampton Saints 20 Quins 27