Harlequins gear up for the upcoming season

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Harlequins look to have an easy draw for the upcoming Heineken Cup in the group stages. They have been lucky and look sure to qualify as their group is not so tough. The English Champions will have to face Biarritz as their toughest opponents in Pool number Three but then they also have weaker teams such as Connacht of Ireland and Zebre of Italy. Hence they should be able to qualify quite easily unless they mess up against one of the weaker teams, which then will be their fault completely.

Leicester on the other hand has been put in Pool number two alongside the French giants Toulouse. This will be a mouth watering encounter. Leicester lost to Harlequins in the Aviva Premiership final last month and hence Harlequins have an advantage over them if they do meet in the following rounds.

On the other Exeter, who will be debuting their Heineken Cup have got a tough group to compete with. Alongside them are the reigning champions of the Heineken Cup Leinster, Scarlets and Clermont Auvergne.

There has been some ambiguity regarding the future of the English Clubs in the Heineken Cup as Premier Rugby has given a two year’s notice of their hard thought intention to withdraw from Amlin Cup and Heineken Cup as they are concerned by the qualification process and by the over all format of the tournaments.

Harlequins on the other hand started off their pres season campaign badly after they lost 31-15 to Castres Olympique. They did put up a great fight but were bettered by their French counterpart. Nine of Harlequins’ EPS players did not play the game and hence this weakened the team greatly.  Hence a lot of young players got a chance to showcase their talent and prove their worth against a good side. Hence all in all it was an encouraging performance for Harlequins as they learnt a lot and also gained from this match. Playing against a full strength team like Castres was never going to be an easy task but they have time to learn form their mistakes and work on them before the season kicks off.

Ward Tipped for Success

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Former England international rugby captain and Harlequin FC No. 8 Nick Easter has tipped the club’s new signing Dave Ward to be a success for the Aviva Premiership Rugby Union champions as the new season gets ready to kick off in a month’s time. Ward was signed by The Quins from the RFU Championship side the Cornish Pirates after he impressed the scouts of the club present when The Pirates took on Bristol Rugby in the playoffs of the RFU Championship.

Moreover, his displays for The Pirates have also made an impact on the former England skipper who followed the player during the playoffs on television. According to Easter, the hooker, who has played more than 100 games for The Pirates in the second tier of English professional rugby, has all the makings of a big star in the Aviva Premiership and has also got the requisite experience of playing in big games to make an immediate impact with Harlequin FC.

Although some people believe that the club didn’t have to go out and sign another No. 2 when the likes of 23 year old Joe Gray as well as 21 year old Rob Buchanan are already in the side, Easter believes that the young players are good enough for the future, but not the present and they still have a long way to go before nailing down a starting place in the side.

Easter also admitted that the retirement of Matt Cairns necessitated the need for Harlequin FC to sign an experienced player in his position and Ward is one player who fits the bill to the T. There are, however, still some reservations if his lack of experience in the top tier of English professional rugby will prove to be a hindrance or not in the long term.

Monye and Harlequin FC Come Full Circle

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Ugo Monye has been an ever present figure for Harlequin FC – having witnessed the despair of the fans when the club got relegated from the Premiership in 2005, the scandal and now, finally, he considers his stint at the club to have come full circle with The Quins winning their first ever Aviva Premiership title. The 29 year old winger is the longest serving player for the club at the moment, having spent 11 years of his career at Twickenham Stoop and having had to wait this long for the biggest success in the professional sport of the country, it is obviously very special to him.

Monye was also a part of The Quins side that won the Amlin Cup last season but the triumph of the club at the Aviva Premiership is bigger than any other win. The journey has been long and rigorous for the flanker, who made his debut for Harlequin FC back in 2002 and now that he has finally tasted the champagne of victory, he wants more such moments before he decides to call time on his career and hang up his boots.

According to Monye, he and his team mates had always known that success was going to come at some point in time, the question was when. He also cited Matt Hopper, who was playing in the playoffs of the Championship last year and now, has a Premiership medal around his neck and although he has had to wait a long time for success, it is worth it.

According to Ugo, this is the first major trophy for the club. Although the Amlin Cup victory of Harlequin FC was important, it was more of a springboard toward greater success than a success in itself and the cub will now aim for the Heineken Cup.