Quins have made a number of changes to the team that beat Newcastle Falcons 47 - 23 in the Zurich Premier League last Saturday. In the front row, Pablo Cardinalli and Bruce Starr replace Jason Leonard and Laurent Gomez who are rested. Alex Codling's hamstring injury is rested and Jim Evans takes Alex's place. Ace Tiatia is suspended and Luke Sherriff deputises. Nick Greenstock plays instead of Will Greenwood who is working on his fitness. Ben Gollings switches to Fly Half to replace Davis Slemen who has a foot injury. Rob Jewell replaces Gollings on the wing.

Quins Man of the Match last week, Tony Diprose said "We are satisfied with the win and it was important to get the bonus points but we left a lot of points out on the pitch. We missed a lot of opportunities. Better sides than Newcastle would have punished us for not taking our opportunities."

Man of the Match (picture: kwin)

I asked Dippy whether he was pleased with his own performance. "I'm pleased with how things went and I'm pleased to be seen to be playing well. The coaches seem happy with the way I'm playing. It's taken a bit of time for the Back Row to gel, Pat missed a lot of last season and Ace was playing Hooker but we're getting to know each other and the way we play. We're playing as a team now and turning over a lot of ball which is a major part of our job."

Ace Tiatia has received four yellow cards in the last 12 months. I asked Tony if he ever has to calm Ace down. "Ace is a fantastic player. Sometimes he gets a bit excited. To be honest it's great to have someone like him in the side. With his hits he takes a lot of pressure off other players. Pat has been playing brilliantly as well."

I suggested that the Quins team seems to have a bit more grit and solidity this season, and asked why Tony thought that was. "It's difficult to say. Perhaps we have found more unity in the face of adversity. What has happened to John Kingston, to Will and to Woody, the relegation battle at the end of last season,. Sometimes things like that can bring a team together more than playing a whole season together."

There have been a couple of threads on the message board asking what Tony's plans are (particularly from Saracens supporters). "I've got the rest of this season and next season left on my contract. I'm enjoying the atmosphere, playing, everything. I enjoy being part of that and want to push the club forward and get things right on the pitch at a time when things are working well off the pitch. I would like to extend my playing time at Quins."

"Playing in Europe is a good experience. We will put in a couple of the younger players. Caerphilly are a better side than their results suggest. I've played in Wales before and it will be a hard place to go and play. They'll have a vocal crowd who will create a big atmosphere. It should be a good match."

"I'm enjoying the atmosphere, playing...everything" (picture: P&N)

Caerphilly have lost all their matches this season in the Celtic League but the results mask an impressive try scoring record. Only Edinburgh have scored more tries in the Celtic league. Coach Mark Ring likes to play an expansive game but this has left The Castletown Men open and they have conceded a lot of points this season. In the summer they took on Forwards coach Paul Yardley to add some steel to the side. When The Castletown Men add a more conservative approach to their game they can be very dangerous as was proved by their 32 -37 defeat to Swansea. They competed well in the set pieces against Swansea and Quins will do well to avoid complacency in this area. Although they lost 15 -67 to Ulster last week this was effectively a "dead match" for Caerphilly who can be sure of putting up a harder fight at home.

Caerphilly are a part-time club with meagre resources but have an enterprising Fly Half in Luke Richards who can kick the points when given the opportunity. Geraint Lewis has pace and Paul Jones is strong in the second row.

Mark Ring will be looking forward to locking horns with an old friend of his Paul Turner. Quins solid front five and the impressive Quins back row should be strong enough to defeat Caerphilly. The Castletown Men will also struggle to defend against the pace of the Quins back three and Bill Satala. Quins have made a number of changes from last week and the Caerphilly backs have troubled a number of teams this season. I predict a Quins win but the result could be closer than expected.

NEC Harlequins: 15 Nathan Williams 14 Rob Jewell 13 Bill Satala 12 Nick Greenstock 11 Matt Moore 10 Ben Gollings 9 Nick Duncombe 1 Bruce Starr 2 Tani Fuga 3 Pablo Cardinalli 4 Bill Davison 5 Jim Evans 6 Luke Sherriff 7 Pat Sanderson 8 Tony Diprose

Caerphilly 15 Sione Tuipulotu 14 Sam Cox 13 Jarrod Murphy 12 Ryan Howells 11 Geraint Lewis 10 Luke Richards 9 Allen Chiltern 1 Lee Manning 2 Feao Vunipola 3 Darren Sweet 4 Nic Rouse 5 Paul Jones 6 Gareth Jones 7 Joe El-Abd 8 Mark Workman

Replacements 16 Justin Thomas 17 Scott Headington 18 Geraint Liddon 19 Christian Ferris 20 Richard Skuse 21 Neil Watkins 22 Andrew Williams

View a Printer Friendly version of this Story.

Bookmark or share this story with:

• Digg
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon

SPORTNETWORK SPECIALS

Harlequins Poll