Harlequins 2014/15 Thread

[Sam]

First topic message reminder :

Squad for 2014/15 Season:
Hookers: Rob Buchanan, Joe Gray, Dave Ward
Props: Will Collier, Paul Doran-Jones, Mark Lambert, Darryl Marfo, Joe Marler (c), Kyle Sinckler
Locks: Charlie Matthews, George Merrick, George Robson, Sam Twomey
Backrow: Chris Robshaw, Joe Trayfoot, Luke Wallace, Jack Clifford, Nick Easter
Scrum Half: Danny Care, Karl Dickson, Sam Stuart
Fly Half: Ben Botica, Nick Evans
Centre: Tom Casson, Matt Hopper, George Lowe, Jordan Turner-Hall
Wing: Ugo Monye, Asaeli Tikoirotuma, Charlie Walker, Tom Williams, Marland Yarde
Fullback: Mike Brown, Ross Chisholm, Ollie Lindsay-Hague

Players in: Asaeli Tikoirotuma (Waikato Chiefs), Marland Yarde (London Irish)

Players out: Tom Guest (London Irish), Sam Smith (Worcester Warriors), Samoa Maurie Fa'asavalu (Oyonnax), Nick Kennedy (retired), Tim Molenaar (London Welsh), Nic Mayhew (North Harbour), Paul Sackey (retired)

Pre-season:
FC Grenoble - Harlequins 16/08/14
Harlequins - Pau 23/08/14
Glasgow Warriors - Harlequins 23/08/14

Come on you Quins!!!  

[Jenifer McLadyboy]

Dublin-Gatwick-Toulouse Return. (EI/FR/EZY)
Two nights in Toulouse.
Day return Toulouse Castres by Train or Bus.

Drop the "Dublin" bit off the beginning of this one and you have a Gatwick solution. Dunno about staying in Toulouse though. About 80k away you would miss the crack.

[propdavid_london]

Brilliant, Thanks

[yappysnap]

Interesting looking team to play Wasps this weekend, win or lose it'll probably give us a lot to think about. Really need Botica to go well, would be good to see Tiks and Sloan slot in seamlessly as well!

JTH needs a massive game.

[Sam]

Fingers crossed for today, need a big reaction on the back of last week.

[propdavid_london]

Well, that was quite an exciting game. A bit close for comfort but the season isnt looking quite so bleak now.
Thats 2 wins from 3 and we still havent actually hit 2nd gear yet - and had 1 tonking that will hopefully still hurt them enough not to let that happen again.

Botica looked solid
Ticks got stuck in which was good to see.
The Scrum held up well, lineout worked too with Ward there.
Back row and rest of pack fronted up
JTH made some good hard yards
Sloan didnt look out of place.
Yard carried a lot but still has to show that international quality for club

[sad_gimp]

JTH needs to start catching the damn ball! Lost count of the number of times he spilled it...again. No good hitting the line at pace if you throw the ball away every time.

[propdavid_london]

Hi mid_gen - true, but prevously he wasnt hitting the line or catching the ball!
I thought Sloan did well, didnt look out of his depth or undersized as some academy kids sometimes do.
I'll admit that centers are a problem so far this season - but there is no continuity!
3 games and 3 different pairings and 2 injuries! Its difficult to click with lots of changes.
Perhaps a Sloan and Lowe combination would work - but thats dependent on how soon Lowe comes back.

[ChequeredJersey]

Think that with that team and esp such a raw 13 and 2 defensively weakish wings we did really well to win that match. Looked like we could attack again and for 20 mins we were nearly back to our best. Robshaw was Godshaw again, had a great match, thought Matthews, Wallace and Care were all great too, and the scrum was better

[propdavid_london]

A-team lost to Lon Welsh last night.
Apparently there are injuries to Merrick and Clifford or add to a few problems. The A team was largely made up of EPDG kids and sounds like they were outgunned by the Lon Welsh pack.

[ChequeredJersey]

Injuries to both Chisholms too. Looks like last season already, with us literally down to JTH and Sloan and Botica (who has to play 10 with Nev out) as our only players who cover centre, and only 4 backrowers left, and 4 locks including academy! And 4 back 3 players :/

[propdavid_london]

Well, that injury list snuck up on us! So, whos out?
Baby Chis
Big Chisholm
Merick
Clifford
Hopper
C.Walker
NEv
Ugo
T.Williams
George Lowe
Tom Casson

Where is Trayfoot?

[ChequeredJersey]

Trayfoot is fit I think. PDJ and Gray are also injured

[ChequeredJersey]

and so is Marchant so after Sloan we are screwed at centre!

[propdavid_london]

We need the renaisance man 'Guest' to come back and play in the middle for us!
I'd say that injury list is worse than last year all of a sudden.

Does anyone know the severity of these injuries?

[ChequeredJersey]

Just need Lowe back

[LondonTiger]

Just need Lowe back

Lowe and Evans out are the biggest issues. While there are a lot of outside backs injured, it is these two you miss.

Up front it is primarily back up players injured isn't it?

[ChequeredJersey]

Yeah, means we have no depth but the starting 8 are all fit

[yappysnap]

Might have been a little presumptuous letting Molenaar go....

Amazed those injuries have snuck up on us so suddenly, now all we need is for Botica or Easter to get injured and we'd be in the poopie!

[Sam]

Might have been a little presumptuous letting Molenaar go....

Amazed those injuries have snuck up on us so suddenly, now all we need is for Botica or Easter to get injured and we'd be in the poopie!

I would have kept Molenaar, he was great last season.

[propdavid_london]

I guess the assumption was that Ticks can also cover 12/13 and there are plenty of other wings to be found!
But Quins are looking a bit thread bear.
Exceter away is always a big ask for Quins. They are playing well and have some big strike runners available. It will be interseting to see who COS selects, whoever gets the nod they will have to be sharp down in sandy park.

[yappysnap]

Said on the round 4 thread that Exeter would be too good for us if we keep insisting on throwing the ball wise at every opportunity, and forcing panicky passes when we do take it on. They're gameplay is pretty similar to globogyms, so we need to be at our most belligerent to get the win.

[ChequeredJersey]

Last time we played them to be fair we did it the Quins chuck it about way and we crushed them, so I don't think it's that clear cut

[yappysnap]

Hadn't they won a trophy and pretty much given up on the season by then though? If I remember right they were playing Poopie by the end of last season as we came into form.

[propdavid_london]

Yes thats how I remember it yappy.
It will be a tough fixture, without a doubt - the pack will really have to front up.

[ChequeredJersey]

We say that every match because it's always true. I'm more worried about our finishing and basic handling. We've rarely actually lost matches in the pack that our backs couldn't have won if they actually caught simple passes and made basic kicks

[yappysnap]

That's true. We've currently scored less then either Welsh or Falcons!

Is it the game plan or the players execution?

[ChequeredJersey]

Maybe both but definitely the execution. So many dropped balls when ever we get promising position...

[Sam]

Teams for the weekend - away to Exeter

Exeter Chiefs: Dollman; Nowell, Slade, Hill, Jess; Steenson, Chudley; Moon, Yeandle (capt), Francis; Lees, Welch; Ewers, White, Waldrom.

Replacements: Taione, Rimmer, Low, Armand, Horstmann, Phibbs, Whitten, James.

Harlequins: Brown; Yarde, Sloan, Turner-Hall, Tikoirotuma; Botica, Care; Marler (capt), Ward, Sinckler; Matthews, Robson; Wallace, Robshaw, Easter.

Replacements: Gray, Lambert, Collier, Twomey, Trayfoot, Dickson, Grimoldby, Lindsay-Hague.

Good to see Trayfoot on the bench, a natural blindside and will be good to see how he gets on in the prem. I hope to see Tiks get some time in the midfield to see how he goes - especially as we are looking a bit thin there.

[yappysnap]

So that's Sloan injured and potentially Brown too!

Where's Molenaars number got to...

[sad_gimp]

I think we're seeing how much we over-achieved last season now. Getting a spot in Europe is a realistic target for the season.

Don't know what the coaches have been up to over the summer. We can't hang on to the ball for more than 2 phases.

I'll forgive Sinckler for ruining our scrum as Marler was pretty appalling his first two seasons but came good with experience.

[yappysnap]

JJ was also terrible to start with but in his final season was the best in the Prem. I'm hoping the same will happen with Synckler, remember both props are incredibly young to be first choices for a top club and we don't have the safety net of an old warhorse to back either of them up.

Hopefully no one will poach Synckler!

Agree about the questionable training. Really not sure what's been achieved over pre season. I fear the attitude amongst the youngsters isn't right, as a lot of them came into the squad on the back of our winning season and now things have changed!

[ChequeredJersey]

If we had TW and Monye back I could see a plan B possible based on the kick chase, but without them I Can't see it working

[yappysnap]

Yea Plan B would be tough at the moment, to be honest if be happy just with us not playing in our own 22 so much.

[propdavid_london]

Morning All, I didnt see the game or the highlights - I just know the score!
So, was it just execution again? Or were Quins blown away by Exeter?
How serious were the injuries sustained?

[beshocked]

You need a Plan A before you can start thinking about Plan B!

Biggest issue I have seen from Quins this season has been the handling.

If I was Conor O Shea - passing is all I would do in training this week.

You have good players, you're just putting yourself under needless pressure. Plus I simply think that Quins lack patience - you need to build phases and a platform before trying to be more adventurous.

LW is a great game to build confidence.

[Ozzy3213]

Morning All, I didnt see the game or the highlights - I just know the score!
So, was it just execution again?  Or were Quins blown away by Exeter?  
How serious were the injuries sustained?

I've not seen it but did see some stats, which had a similar feel to when you played Saracens.  I think I saw that the Chiefs had something like 34% possession in the second half and just punished your mistakes.

[propdavid_london]

Great - seems like its going to be a bit of a mixed bag season.
Might have to re-assess the objectives and look at qualifying for Europe next season as a main target.

I know that there are a lot of injuries, but there appears to have been a real backwards step over the off season.

[yappysnap]

Exeter didn't really have to do much for their points, we had to make 65 tackles all game.

They just fed off our knock ons, dodgy line outs, few pens at the scrum and dropped restarts.

Oh and then we gave up tackling at the end there.

[ChequeredJersey]

So that's Sloan injured and potentially Brown too!

Where's Molenaars number got to...

Because god has a sense of humour, poor Tim Molenaar is out injured for the season with an ACL tear

[propdavid_london]

So, for Lon Welsh we should be looking at a team like -
Marler, Ward, Sinkler
Robson, Matthews
Wallace, Robshaw, Easter
Care
Botica
Ticks
JTH
??????? - Is Hopper back?
Yarde
??????? - Brown and Chis injured - OLH?

How far away is Tom Williams?

[yappysnap]

Hoping Trayfoot comes in at 6 for Wallace.

Backline should be:

Care
Botica
OLH
JTH
Tiks
Yarde
Brown

Guest ion mark over Brown though, if he's put then OLH to 15 and who knows what'll happen on the wing/13

[ChequeredJersey]

Lowe playing in the A team this week apparently

[propdavid_london]

That is great news for Lowe and Quins.
Good result on the weekend - hopefully a confidence booster before travelling to Welford Rd.
I wasnt there but from the highlights Qunis looked to be more clinical and had a solid scrum. NeV kicked his goals and Yarde got over the tryline.
Woeful defence from Welsh on a number of those trys though.

[Sam]

Hopefully Lowe is! Could do with him back, although Hopper is a good option at 13.

Good result at the weekend but judging by Welsh's previous games not a huge surprise, bring on the next game!

[propdavid_london]

Leicester: Tait; Scully, Tuilagi, Williams, Goneva; Burns, Youngs (capt); Rizzo, Ghiraldini, Balmain; Thorn, Kitchener; Gibson, Salvi, Crane.

Replacements: Briggs, Ayerza, Pasquali, De Chaves, Barbieri, Mele, Harrison, Benjamin.

Harlequins: Brown; Yarde, Hopper, Casson, Tikoirotuma; Evans, Care; Marler (capt), Gray, Collier; Matthews, Robson; Wallace, Robshaw, Easter.

Replacements: Ward, Lambert, Sinckler, Twomey, Trayfoot, Dickson, Lowe, Lindsay-Hague.

[propdavid_london]

I still look at that Tigers team and think that they a great side full of internationals.
Great to see Tuilagi and Lowe back from injuries. Although I am hoping that Manu will be a bit rusty for this game. Goneva is usually the one to watch and is such a dangerous strike runner.
Gibson-Salvi-Crane vs Wallace-Robshaw-Easter, going to be a great backrow battle.

[yappysnap]

Think this could be the game Tiger start to get their season back on track. In their games so far the pack has struggled to get them a foothold, can't see that being a problem tonight. Like wise our D isn't as aggressive as others have been, the centre's aren't exactly physical so it'll come down to how much we can score more then how much we can keep out.

[ChequeredJersey]

We will win

[ChequeredJersey]

Could not have been more wrong

[propdavid_london]

Another lack luster performance! Quins were very lucky to pick up a loosing bonus point from that game.
Is it fitness? Lack of cohesion? Lack of desire!

Mike Brown had a bad day at the office too, missing high balls that he would normally be rock solid under.
What is functioning well at the moment?

[Sponsored content]