Harlequins Rugby Video Score: 5 / five
SARACENS vs HARLEQUINS
Two of the biggest names in the Aviva Premiership, Saracens FC and Harlequins Football Club go head to head this week and as per the ticket sales, the London derby might just be the biggest ever in the history of the game with as many as 85,000 people expected to make their way into the stadium to cheer on their respective teams. This milestone, should it be reached, will represent a huge step forward for rugby as a club based game in England since the start of the Aviva Premiership in 1997.
At that time, Mark McCall, the Director of Rugby for Saracens and his counterpart at Harlequins Football Club Conor O’Shea were teammates for another Aviva Premiership side the London Irish and the biggest home crowd that they could expect at the home stadium of The Exiles at The Avenue was a meager 5,000. According to officials of Saracens, they just have a few hundred tickets still left to be sold and with the match taking place at Wembley, which has a capacity of 90,779, they are well on their way to beat the attendance record set in the match between the Leicester Tigers and the Celtic League side from Ireland, Munster Rugby which was recorded to be 82,208.
According to McCall, it is great for English rugby to be selling games out like this and he also extended his gratitude to The Quins who are as much responsible for pulling such a huge crowd for the match as they are – Nick Easter in particular has been sensational recently.
Harlequins Football Club might be struggling in the European Challenge Cup and was knocked out unceremoniously, but they are still on top and a victory against the arch enemies will give them immense confidence ahead of the next few matches that are left and the new season.
Harlequins RL get in the ring – part 1
Harlequins Rugby Video clip Score: / 5
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Harlequins Rugby Video clip Rating: / five
HARLEQUINS STILL STRUGGLING
Harlequins failed to get their stuttering season back on track with a defeat at the hands of Gloucester and a poor performance to match. Ross Chisholm ran in two tries for Quins but an inability to convert their second half pressure meant they had to settle for a losing bonus point.
Since December’s Heineken Cup heroics and the victory over Toulouse, Harlequins have failed to impress, losing to the likes of Northampton, Saracens and now Gloucester and scraping past Worcester and Exeter. Their run of dire form since the New Year has also seen them crash out of the Heineken Cup and the LV=Cup.
The Gloucester game was the sort of match they were taking a minimum of 4 points from prior to Christmas but they were left with huge regrets.
Saracens’ shock defeat to Worcester on Friday had meant Quins could reopen the ever closing gap at the top of the table. Victory would have given them a nine point lead but they too would slip up.
They started slowly and never really got back on track, going 10 points down within 10 minutes and managing to stay in touch with Gloucester but to never really take control of the game.
Sloppy defensive errors from the league leaders meant Gloucester were always going to have chances and Jonny May’s try only went to highlight this. He broke through the defence from just short of halfway to add Gloucester’s second try in the second half and boost talk of an England call up.
Late in the first half Quins were lucky to not be reduced to 14 when Ugo Monye was penalised for a high tackle.
The half time score of 21-13 highlighted the openness of the game and the extent to which Gloucester had dominated. Quins would not recover. Yes, they made more chances in the second half and had they been more clinical in their finishing could have run out with a victory but the killer instinct that was so present in the earlier parts of the season was certainly missing when they made it to Gloucester’s 22.
The Quins pack led by example and was able to give Quins the territory but a combination of resilient defence from Gloucester and a lack of ingenuity from Harelquins meant they never really looked like snatching victory. They did stop Gloucester securing a bonus point and snatched one of their own with a late touchline conversion from Evans.
Quins will now turn their focus to regaining some sort of form before next month’s clash with Saracens. Next up is a trip to Newcastle, a game Quins can expect to win, but the performance will be under scrutiny as much as the result
EASTER IS STAYING
Nick Easter has recently signed a new deal for three years till the end of the 2014-2015 seasons with the Harlequins. The director Conor O’Shea has clearly mentioned that this is quite an achievement for the Harlequins considering the fact that Nick is currently the 8th best player in the country known for rugby.
He is quite sure that each and every member of the Harlequins club is elated and excited to play with such a top notch payer who has shown an excellent array of skills and talents through the years.
The beauty of Nick Easter is the fact that he has managed to come up the ladder even though he hasn’t been on the field for long. His regime and the condition he keeps himself in most of the time is what help him to remain fit and active all throughout. Nick himself feels happy joining this club as he feels that they allow him to express himself to the fullest and best of his potential.
Moreover, by bringing about an attractive style of rugby, it not only becomes enjoyable but also manages to bring about positive results to the game. He is quite keen and concerned in bringing about positive increments to the team’s performance and ratings on the points table. He hopes that Harlequins becomes better with his entry as he is ready to put in his cent percent effort and make sure that no stone remain unturned. He has managed to play as a flanker for the England team and can even do the same here for the Harlequins if needed and required. Let’s hope for the best as Harlequins have managed to strike a great deal with this star and gem of a player.