Quins turn to Limerick
By Worried of Whitton
October 21 2004
Limerick eh? …….. Fifteen brave men from Quins, Played Munster out of their skins, Away, at Thomond Park, They over excelled for Mark, And played on for a sensational Win!
Oh, you mean the City of Limerick. Fantasy or fact, Harlequins do seem to have better fortune in cup matches than the league and we did have an unbeaten European Challenge Cup run last year!
This week we take a much needed breather from the trials and tribulations of the Zurich Premiership and focus on our first round match in the Heineken Cup, against Munster at Thomond Park, kick of 17.15. For those not making the journey across the water the match is being shown live on Sky Sports 3 It will not be a walk in the park This will certainly be a baptism of fire starting a European Cup campaign away at Thomond Park but it is a great tie to start the venture with a similarly great return match to look forward to in January which is to be played over the road at HQ, which is the final game of the pool competition.
Harlequins last played in the Heineken Cup three years ago, coincidentally, in very similar grouping, with Munster and Castres This time, The Ospreys are the Welsh entry, instead of Bridgend. As you will recall we did not make it past the pool stages of the competition that year. Given Harlequins performance so far this season and that the Ospreys currently top the Celtic league with seven straight wins, Munster are fourth. Most media pundits already believe the same fate will befall Harlequins this year even before a ball has been kicked. The make up of this pool not only makes it a hard one to win but just as hard to predict the out come. It is true that history is not kind, the last time the two teams met, Munster effectively cruised past Quins 24-8 at the Stoop in October 2001 and then went on to crush them 51-17 in Limerick in January 2002, although it was Quins who took an early lead in both matches. Interestingly Jeremy Staunton, played the whole game at the Stoop. The late Nick Duncombe played a sensational debut first team game, and scored a wonderful try at Thomond Park. Today of the 22 players in that Harlequins squad of 2001-2, only three players, Tony Diprose, Will Greenwood, and Roy Winters are still with the club. Munster have had a little more continuity in the intervening years, with seven players from their original 22. These statistics do not include the “half back swap” of Jeremy Staunton for Paul Burke, who were part of the “opposition squads”.
Munster come into this match a on the back of a comprehensive thumping at home, of Cardiff Blues 49-18 last weekend, despite being two tries down within fifteen minutes. O’Gara kicked five penalties and three conversions, with two tries from Cullen. They have to date made a slower start to the season, and are currently lying fourth in the Celtic league, with three wins, one draw and two losses. They have a well known squad of players with Paul O’Connell, Ronan O’Gara, Peter Stringer, and former All Black full back Christian Cullen. Cullen is currently the top scorer in the Celtic League with eight tries and he will definitely be looking to breach the Quins defences on Saturday. Munster however are still striving to actually win the Heineken Cup, a trophy which has constantly eluded them for a number of years now. The Munster pedigree in this competition is second to none, in 2000 and 2002 they were runners up, and also reached the semi finals in 2003 and 2004. Although the luck of the Irish has not always been with them in their European campaigns, such is the quality and desire of their squad to win this competition. However will they ever go all the way? A number of their determined players are not getting any younger, and coupled with their Irish Squad commitments means that they have not always been able to field their strongest side.
Certainly when Harlequins qualified for this competition in May they did not expect to the sitting at the foot of the Premiership. We are all well aware of the circumstances that Quins find them selves in going into this match. Although the player comings and goings this week have no immediate impact on the team selection for this match, it probably has provided an unwelcome distraction. The press may say that we are facing a critical period and perhaps should be forgiven for not being fully focused on this competition, rather keep an eye firmly focused on maintaining survival in the Premiership. That simply is not true, the signings of the two Southern Hemisphere locks Maling and Cronjé will resolve the domestic issues, and Mark Evans has done an excellent job in recruiting them. It is very disappointing to loose Henjak after only two first team games BUT that was the calculated risk we took, and you have to take risks to succeed.
Harlequins attitude to the game means they will not go down without a fight. The team to play Munster was always likely to be the same one that surprised Leicester and the media last week end with of course the exception at No 9 where So’oialo returns. There were some great performances in our two previous league matches against Gloucester and Leicester. Contrary to what some may believe these games are probably the best preparation you could have, prior to meeting Munster. Last weekend Winters and Miall performed very well against Johnston. FitzGerald also had a good game, although still coming back from injury; his performance began to drop after an hour. Greenwood and James showed some flashes of inspiration and given half a chance Greenwood can make such a difference to the teams scoring opportunities. Hopefully So’oialo will have picked up some ideas from Henjak’s play, to speed up the ball, and to mix it up. It is good to see the return from injury, albeit on the bench of Mel Deane, Mike Worsley and Andy Dunne. Palepoi, who has played well in the recent series of “A” matches, is also on the bench replacing the injured Karl Rudzki. This is a good selection and there is no reason why they cannot match Munster.
In announcing the team today Mark Evans stated “The fact that Munster have never lost at Thomond Park in the Heineken Cup gives a very clear indication of the magnitude of the task we face this Saturday. They have consistently been one of the best teams in this competition in recent years and I’m sure they will fancy their chances of going all the way this season. However, we have played well in our last two matches against two of the best sides in the Premiership. These performances have shown that we can compete at the highest level, though this cannot disguise the fact that we are still looking for our first victory of the season. Without question, we will have to raise our game even further if we are to get the result we are after at the weekend.”
Expectations outside the club maybe low and given Harlequins recent performances a win will be regarded as a real achievement and a step in the right direction. Obviously Munster at home are no slouches but home records have to come to an end sometime and this weekend looks to be as good a time as any for that to happen, as long as it doesn’t rain during the match!
If you travelling over for the match have a safe journey and a great weekend, enjoy the Craic!
Come on you Quins!
Prediction: An upset!
NEC Harlequins: to be confirmed
15. Gavin Duffy, 14. George Harder, 13. Will Greenwood 12. Daffyd James, 11. Simon Keogh, 10. Jeremy Staunton, 9. Steve So’oialo, 1. Ceri Jones, 2. Tani Fuga, 3. Maurice Fitzgerald, 4. Roy Winters, 5. Simon Miall, 6. Nick Easter, 7. Andre Vos (c), 8, Tony Diprose
Replacements:
16. Ace Tiatia , 17.Mike Worsley 18. Opeta Palepoi, 19. Luke Sheriff, 20. Andy Dunne, 21. Mel Deane, 22. Tom Williams
Munster : to be confirmed
15.C Cullen; 14. J Kelly,13.T Hogan// T Bowman ,12. R Henderson, 11.A Horgan;10. R O'Gara, 9. P Stringer; 1.M Horan, 2. F Sheahan, 3. J Hayes, 4.P O'Connell, 5.T Hogan, 6. J Williams, 7. D Leamy, 8. A Foley (capt).
Replacements: J Flannery, G McIlwham, T Bowman, A Quinlan, M Prendergast, P Burke, P Devlin.
Match Officials:
Referee: Hugh WatkinsTouch Judges: Gareth Simmonds and Keri Evans