It is usually pleasing to be able to watch an away game live on tv, but the recent performances by Harlequins will probably have turned the Sky audience off, With at least two more Quins games to be shown on Sky in the coming weeks it is almost as if they are taking a perverse pleasure in highlighting the inadequacies of our game to the nation, and to emphasise Stuart Barnes recent comment after our home match against Leicester “On this showing it is just as well Quins banked a lot of points at the start of the season. They have been sluggish, unimaginative; you name it, for well over a month. Dean Richards' team will not lift themselves from the doldrums until they start to generate pace and some ambition."

For myself and I guess many other supporters who were at The Stoop last Sunday it was as if Groundhog day had arrived early, and I suppose it was fitting in playing again French opposition that there was a distinct air of déjà vu about the way the game was played. I m sure if we all sat down in the bar before the game we could have worked out  how the game would be played, this 12 point game plan has become far to familiar in recent weeks.

• Quins come out fighting
• Quins go ahead early in the first half with a penalty
• Quins defend well, but after 20 minutes the opposition begin to turn the game
• The opposition draw level or take a slight lead           
• Quins reply but cannot score, the opposition score again
• Half time Quins still in the match with the scores relatively close
• Second half Quin try to get the upper hand, opposition reply and score again
• Quins continue to fight back, but unable to score
• Opposition loose a man to the sin bin
• Quins unable to capitalise and concede a try or two
• Quins continue to attack and score a consolation try in the final minutes
• Final Whistle

After Sunday’s game Dean Richards continued to look on the bright side, but his comments provide a great deal of spin “There's a huge amount of positives…We have a relatively young side and we knew we were up against it…. It was always going to be difficult for us to progress bearing in mind we were up against Cardiff, Stade Francais and Bristol….We wanted to get as much experience as we can and what we learnt is that you can't afford to turn over the ball in key areas. If they get a sniff they crucify you The fact that Richards added “We've drawn a line under this now,'' added Richards, suggest that it was more “Je ne regret rien” rather than we know where the problems are and we know how to fix it. Richards finished his press conference with the following two statements 

"We're into the business end of the season now and we can concentrate on the league and solely on the league. We set out our stall to finish in a higher position than we did last year.''

So what of this week’s match? This weekend marks the half way point of the season as the round 11 games are played. Currently Quins lie in a respectable sixth position, on 26 points and we wonder where they will be as they end the second half of the season.

We have another Friday night game coming straight after a Sunday game which gives the team one less day to prepare, and build their confidence at a time when they can probably least afford it. A glance at the premiership table with Sale just one place and two points above sixth placed Quins suggests that there is not much between the two teams. The longer view shows that in the last few rounds of the Premiership, show Sale are in the ascendance after  the World Cup, and they have just passed Quins who have been headed in the opposite direction. In their respective round 10 matches both teams lost, Quins at home to Leicester and Sale surprising losing away at London Irish, in a match that saw Philippe St. Andre ranting about how poor his side had played. Bath and Leicester were the only teams to improve their respective league positions in the top six two weeks ago and the winning performances of Newcastle and Wasps, they are now in a position to overtake Quins in the league although both find themselves with difficult away matches at Leicester and Gloucester respectively, yet Quins could drop to eighth place this weekend, but still a long way from the drop zone.

It is unlikely that Sale will take anything less than four points from this match. Sale Away is never an easy fixture and a Friday night adds to the pressure on the visiting team. As such there will be very few supporters expecting an away win, BUT they would like to see a decent performance. The real test comes in the next home game against Worcester on February 16^th, which will give the clearest indication of which way the rest of Harlequins season is headed.

Come on You Quins!

Other matches this weekend are;

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• January 2008 at Harlequins