Harvey in Action
Full Name: Harvey I Wing
Position: Outside Wing (also Utility Back / Utility Forward)
Previous Teams: Always been a Quin
Date of Birth: 1/5/74
Height: 5'11" (though momentarily can appear much larger)
Weight: 0st 0lb (0kg)
Representative Honours: England Schools, England U21, England, British
Lions
2003/3 Season: Appearances: 29. Tries 0, Points 0, Carries 0.
Last week I finally spoke with Harvey on the telephone from New Zealand where he had travelled to support his cousin Hivvi, on the bench for Auckland in last weekend's S12 final. Harvey is a long established player at Quins and with Jason Leonard is the last remaining member of the glory team of the early 90s
Ever popular with the crowd Harvey can play outside either wing and is incredibly quick about the park. In attack, his strength is his speed and positioning in support of the ball carrier. In particular his choice of angles is breathtaking and almost always leaves him in a tantalisingly perfect position to accept the scoring pass. His weakness, however, is most certainly his catching, and fans have lost count of the number of times they have witnessed a well-thrown pass bounce uselessly into touch. It's because of this that many players refuse to trust him, and sometimes he can go an entire game without receiving a pass.
In defence Harvey contrives to be everywhere and nowhere and his record can best be summed up as patchy. At his worst he sometimes goes AWOL - it's almost as if he isn't there, letting opponents slip through what might as well be a enormous hole in the defence. But at his best he's impossible to avoid, as he pops up most unexpectedly to bring down an opponent, or perhaps cause him to spill the ball in the tackle or even (his favourite trick) running alongside an attacking player, just out of sight, and calling for the ball.
I asked Harvey what he enjoyed most about Quins. "The supporters certainly", he replied, "I'm a great fan of Come All Within and I'm ashamed to admit that I read it almost every day, especially the stuff about myself. I was really pleased to see my photograph included in the profiles the other week, especially so because the club left me out of their team shots. Really it's the fans that make it all worthwhile - my highlight of the season was winning a CAW man of the match award, the first time I've been recognised in that way"
I asked Harvey whether he had any particular mates in the team "Not really, I mean obviously a few of the fellas are close. Ben, Nathan, Dan they all look after me, and often give me the ball, but many of the other members of the team seem to wish I wasn't here. It's tough, but I take heart from the fact that Mark has picked me for almost every game this season, so I must be doing something right".
I asked Harvey whether the arrival of Paul Turner had made much difference to the back play last season. "Undoubtedly yes. I have to say I was nervous before the season started, because I know that my style of play doesn't really suit what Tommy's trying to achieve, and I was worried about whether I'd keep my place in the side. However after a couple of nervous games at the beginning, I soon managed to establish myself as regular 1st team player - which is quite tough actually as I often turn out for the 2nd XV as well"
I wished Harvey well over the summer. At this moment it's not certain whether he'll be travelling to the World Cup with the England team, but he's hopeful. "It's often like this pre-tour. The players and the coaches start out with the intention of doing without me, but in the end I usually get invited along - usually just in time for the knockout stages. Really, it's just a matter of being in the right place at the right time, and then catching Clive's eye"
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