Now in its fourth year, at Twickenham, the marketing boys have kept the hype and the format much the same and have also manipulated the timings to appease the television audience. Although the Harlequins match kicks off first, this year it will not be the first Premiership match of the season, this honour falls to the Bath v Worcester match at 14.15. With the World Cup in France entering its second weekend, the match timings have been adjusted so that the London Double Header kicks off and squeezes in two matches on completion of the World Cup Pool B match, Wales v Australia in Cardiff, (kick off at 14.00) and before Ireland play Georgia at 20.00. Despite the revised timings bizarrely the Quins match is not being televised live, Sky will be showing the Wasps v Saracens match at 18.00 instead. The later kick off does provides a bit of extra time for any supporters, who decided not to make a weekend of it in Paris, and celebrate / commiserate on the aftermath of the likely debacle that will be England v South Africa game.

Reading the various “London” boards it appears that as far as the supporters are concerned, the novelty of the London Double Header has somewhat waned, and it is viewed purely as a means to maximise revenues rather than an exciting day out. The idea is/ was good but unless you are going to fill the Stadium the atmosphere will always be less than it is on the moon. Thankfully it was just a rumour that this event was to be staged at Wembley, had it gone ahead the stadium would be even emptier than it will be at Twickenham. Surely by now the marketing men would have realised that 50% of the target audience are only interested in the match that their team is involved with. I maintain that the Harlequins v London Irish fixture is far more exiting and has much more of a competitive edge if it were played at The Stoop or at Madjeski Stadium. With the World Cup matches being played in such close proximity in Paris and Cardiff, they have given many supporters a plausible excuse not to go.

So Harlequins and London Irish meet again. Both teams finished in mid table respectability last season in close proximity to each other with Irish in sixth and Quins seventh position At the end of the 2006-07 Season the premiership table shows that Harlequins finished just below London Irish, in seventh position, both with mid table respectability This was a significant feat after their extremely poor start of five consecutive Premiership losses, after gaining promotion This was made all the more remarkable with Bath losing in the ECC Cup enabling Harlequins to qualify for the last place in the Heineken Cup competition. London Irish, however, would not have been as happy with their position after finishing in third position the season before.

On the last day of the season Irish lost 27 -22 to Northampton who despite this win were relegated to Division 1, whilst Quins had and absolutely “stonking” win at home, obliterating Sale 49-0 at the Stoop. All in all both teams were fairly evenly matched last season. In addition, both clubs have qualified for the Heineken Cup and the two sides have also been drawn to meet in the same pool of the Anglo Welsh EDF Cup.

Ironically had Harlequins not gifted the win to their rivals, losing 20-19 in last years Double Header then those end of season positions would have been reversed. Quins, however, got their revenge in a comprehensive 34-17 win at The Stoop in April.

Pre season, Quins have had a solid preparation with four competitive matches against an eclectic mix of opposition in Samoa, Northampton, Bristol and Connacht. Despite two losses, to their English opponents and two wins a lot will have been learned and Quins can take heart as being the only English team to beat Samoa in their pre World Cup matches. In their pre season matches London Irish appeared to have met with less competitive opposition and, not surprisingly were able to come away with three wins, these being away to London Scottish, at home (Sunbury) against Nottingham and finally away to Worcester.

The similarities continue with both sides missing key players who are away representing their countries in the World Cup in France. Harlequins are without Easter, and Gomarsall who are on England duty alongside Mike Catt and Peter Richards from London Irish. Both sides also have two players out with Southern Hemisphere squads, Harlequins are without their Samoan dup of Fuga and So’oialo, whilst Irish are also without two Argentineans, Leguizamon and Tiesi.

In the transfer arena Quins lost eight players in May and have gained another seven plus one short term cover at Hooker courtesy of Christophe Lamont ex Bayonne, who provide support for six weeks until Fuga returns from the World Cup and Gary Botha starts. Quins have also signed

De Wet Barry (The Stormers), John Brooks (Northampton Saints), James Percival (Northampton Saints), Chris Brooker (Bath Rugby), Chris Malone (Bath Rugby), Phil Davies (Bayonne).

London Irish have also been busy in the transfer market and their new players this season include a couple of one time Quins in Jeremy Staunton and Peter Richards. They have also signed Tim Curran (ACT Brumbies), Tomas De Vedia (Saracens) Clarke Dermody (Otago Highlanders), Warren Fury (Wasps), Eoghan Hickey (Munster), Mark Ireland (Newbury), Bryan Rennie (Borders Reivers).

At the time of publication neither side had announced their teams, Last Season the Quins team announcement was usually made at midday on the day before the match, and it is expected that this will be the trend this season. Injuries will play role in the team selection. Initially there appeared to be a significant number of players not available for the Quins warm a up matches, which allowed the academy players to come to fore and integrate with the first XV. Thankfully the injured are beginning to make their comeback, with Jordan Turner Hall, Chris Malone and Paul Volley retuning against Connacht last week. In that match Monye was knocked out and it will be dependent on the results of tests carried out this week whether he makes the starting line up this week. We all feel desperately sorry for David Strettle missing out on the World Cup. It is ironic that it was considered safe for him to “model” up on the Etihad Stand roof, without a hard hat and safety harness but once back on the training field he was at risk. We wish you a speedy recovery David.

It is usual at the start of a new season to see a variety of unfamiliar names in the starting line up, due to the new signings and injuries and this is made more acute this year with the World Cup. However the pre season friendlies have shown that there is talent in the academy to fill the gaps, and experience of successfully using these players in the first XV pays dividends. The start of the new season is always an anxious time, as we all hope for a flying start, but there is no reason to write off our chances of success before we begin.

With Ashley Rowden taking charge as the man in the middle with the whistle, both sets of supporters will be more than happy with the choice of referee, and it should make for a good match. So is there a prediction? can Harlequins finally win a London Double Header Match? Well the answer is YES, but it I m expecting that it will be close result again, with a losing bonus point for London Irish.

I was fortunate enough to see the Police play at Twickenham Stadium last weekend and I’m glad to report that Sting created the right atmosphere when he sang “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” and as the crowd sang along, the stands echoed with the sound of “Keogh, “Keogh” as it drew to a close. The final song they played on Sunday night was “Every Breath You Take”. As the lyrics rang out across the Stadium, I was struck by the fact that most of these words would strike a chord with many rugby supporters as the weeks progress with the inevitable high’s and low’s of their team over the coming season.

“Every breath you take
And every move you make
Every bond you break, every step you take
I'll be watching you

Every single day
And every word you say
Every game you play, every night you stay
I'll be watching you

Oh, can't you see
You belong to me?
How my poor heart aches
With every step you take
Every move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake, every claim you stake
I'll be watching you


Every move you make, every step you take
I'll be watching you
I'll be watching you”

Come on you Quins!

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