Away The Lads: Newcastle Preview
By Worried of Whitton
September 17 2004
Harlequins are away to Newcastle Falcons at Kingston Park this Sunday, September 19th, kick off 15.00 hours. Round 3 of the Zurich Premiership is a tale of two seconds, with the team second from the top at home to the team who are second from the bottom.
The irony of Mad Max’s choice of Ian Dury’s “Reasons to be Cheerful” was certainly not lost on me as I left my seat on Saturday afternoon, however Blockhead officiandos will say “What a Waste”, after such a fine start, would probably have been a more appropriate choice. This is not to take anything away from Northampton’s impressive performance, as Quins slumped to a sizeable 13-45 defeat, in a match that was effectively over by half time. Enough has been said about last Saturday which is now consigned to history. The team and management have had a full week to reflect and review, and the Sunday kick off has the added advantage of an extra day’s preparation and recouperation, as we now shift the focus on to our next match.
A new look and much rejuvenated Newcastle side awaits Harlequins at Kingston Park on Sunday. Newcastle, like Northampton, have started the season very well, collecting nine points from two matches. Both successes have been away wins, which for a side that in the past few years have not travelled well, is a clear indication that Rob Andrew has his sights fixed firmly on finishing at the top of the Premiership this year, and to perform better in the Heineken Cup .Falcons finished in ninth position in the Premiership last year but they did qualify to join the European elite by winning the Powergen Cup. A canny Rob Andrew has recruited well to his squad over the summer. Arguably the biggest player transfer in the Premiership’s short history was the most notable recruit full back Matt Burke from NSW Waratahs and capped 81 times for Australia. This signing alone speaks volumes for the ambition of the club, however one needs to remember that no matter how great the signings are it is how they play together as a team that wins championships. Simo Sititi from Borders, Mike McCarthy from Connacht and Charvis from Tarbes and. ex Quin Luke Gross were also signed as another ex Quin Ben Gollings departed along with Vyvyan, Britz, Archer and Andrews.
Naturally the other bonus for The Falcons this year is, of course is the return of a rejuvenated “Wor Jonny”, and the plaudits have been flowing. Against Bath he made a significant impact on controlling the pace and the running of the game in a way that was perhaps beyond his abilities 18 months ago. .His temperament and judgement have been honed whilst he has “been away”, and whether it is a response to his injury, he now only makes those tackles he needs to. He also created the four tries that Newcastle scored, through May(2), McCarthy, and Stephenson , and more surgically, he struck back at Bath by taking two well executed, second half drop goals. This is an area where Quins must be alert and be careful to prevent these opportunities opening up, because they will be severely punished if they do not.
Rob Andrew has announced a couple of changes from the team that played Bath, stating “We have rotated the squad for this game, although that isn’t necessarily reflection on form from last week. It’s a long season, and we know how important having a strong squad is to us. Matt Burke has been outstanding in training so far, and even though he got on for the last ten minutes at Bath, we were down to 13 men so he didn’t really touch the ball. But we know what he is about and we think he’ll add to what we’ve already been building”. Sundays match therefore, sees Matthew Burke get his full debut, taking the place of Joe Shaw at fullback. Lock Craig Hamilton replaces Luke Gross who is on the bench, and at tight head prop Micky Ward takes the place of Marius Hurter. Hall Charlton returns at scrum half for James Grindal, while Samoa captain Semo Sititi makes his first competitive start for the club following the suspension of Phil Dowson, after his fracas at Bath. Newcastle have posted a very strong side.
Harlequins have also a number of announced changes to the side that started last week against Northampton.
I was at the “A” match on Monday night on a scouting mission. Although playing at scrum half that night, Simon Keogh retains his position on the wing with Ugo Monye. Although Mbu was electric with his running and his three tries, there were aspects of this game which showed that he is not yet Premiership material. Opeta Palepoi also impressed and is a shrewd signing by ME, he will be ready for the top flight very soon.
Reay impressed as he always does and with the ”crisis at centre” with injuries to Greenwood and Deane last week With Deane out with strained medial ligaments for up to six weeks, I expected him to be selected for this match. and it gives Reay another opportunity to display his credentials; he played extremely well last year in the early season first XV matches. It is good to see Harder start alongside Reay, as Greenwood takes a precautionary rest after last weeks knock. Harder is certainly an impact player and will cause upset. Staunton kicked very well for the seconds on Monday night and his selection over Dunne this week to give him his first Premiership start as fly half, is not too much of a surprise. A Munster man I spoke to in the east stand bar last Saturday was full of praise for Staunton, and could not understand why he wasn’t starting. So’ oialo retains his place at scrum half and it will be interesting to see if he will be trading any hair care tips with Colin Charvis. Another welcome return to the starting line up is Tony Diprose who in the juggle of the back row replaces Molitika who drops to the bench. Sherriff reverts to number 6. The pack has also been reshuffled this week with Ceri Jones starting alongside Ace as Hooker, with Jon Dawson they make a more potent front row than started the match last week. Roy Winters who also had an excellent game with the “A” s retains his position on the bench, and we also welcome back Tom Williams.
The team is strong and has a good shape to it, and they have a huge task to fulfil, but they certainly have the capability, mentality and potential to succeed.
Harlequins Chief Executive Mark Evans said “We have a very proud squad of players who have worked very hard in training this week and are determined to make-up for what happened last weekend in attempting to get our first win of the season on Sunday.”
This will be Newcastle’s first home match this season and they will be buoyed up to win. Whilst many Falcons may think, based on the previous weeks results, Quins will be a certain five point win for them, but they should stop and
remember that they have only beaten Harlequins just once in their past eight meetings, and that was at Kingston Park in February 2003. Rob Andrew said this week that Quins are a bit of a bogey team for us, “... we’ve only beaten them once in the last few years”, adding ruefully “but hopefully that will all change on Sunday.”
That last gasp win at Kingston Park on a cold early January afternoon is still fresh in the memory, when a pushover try by Ceri Jones, and conversion by Adrian Jarvis, deep in injury time, snatched a victory for Harlequins. That win was all the more impressive, because the equally late, but earlier, Walder drop goal that had apparently won the match for Newcastle. This was a turning point for Harlequins last season as it demonstrated a new hunger, determination and bloody-mindedness that had rarely been displayed before. From that win, the current ethos of playing the full 80 minutes +, has continued and Quins will need to do the same on Sunday if they are to make any headway. Ironically this match was also Harlequins last away victory in the Premiership.
For those travelling North have an enjoyable weekend, I know you’ll get behind the team. Unfortunately, I’ll not be there, but I will be listening “on line”.
Come on you Quins!
Players to Watch:
Likely Lads : Matt Burke, Semo Sititi
Angels of the North: Ceri Jones, Jeremy Staunton
Prediction: A draw with a bonus point a piece.
NEC Harlequins:
15. Gavin Duffy, 14. Ugo Monye, 13. George Harder, 12. Andy Reay, 11. Simon Keogh, 10. Jeremy Staunton, 9. Steve So’oialo, 1. Ceri Jones, 2. Ace Tiatia, 3. Jon Dawson, 4. Karl Rudzki, 5. Simon Miall,, 6. Luke Sherriff, 7. Andre Vos (c), 8, Tony Diprose
Replacements: 16. James Hayter , 17. Mike Worsley, 18. Roy Winters, 19.Kai Horstmann, 20. Maama Molitika, 21. Andy Dunne, 22. Tom Williams
Newcastle Falcons:
15. Matthew Burke, 14. Tom May, 13. Jamie Noon, 12. Mark Mayerhofler, 11. Michael Stephenson, 10. Jonny Wilkinson (jc), 9. Hall Charlton, 1. Ian Peel (jc), 2. Andy Long, 3. Mickey Ward, 4. Stuart Grimes, 5. Craig Hamilton, 6. Mike McCarthy, 7. Colin Charvis, 8. Semo Sititi.
Replacements: 16. James Isaacson, 17. Matt Thompson, 18. Luke Gross, 19. Epi Taione,
20. James Grindal, 2.1 Dave Walder, 22. Joe Shaw
Match officials:
Referee: Sean Davey
Touch judges: Brian Campsall, Don Helme
Assessor: Colin High