By KevT
October 2 2003

NEC Harlequins take on Saracens at Vicarage Road on Sunday (5th October) kick off 3.00pm with both teams having experienced very different starts to their seasons.

Quins have won three out of three games whilst Saracens have won a game, drawn a game, lost a game and had two points deducted. Quins are top of the league, Saracens are eleventh.

Quins are likely to make one change to the team that narrowly defeated London Irish last season. Jim Evans will replace Simon Miall who has a ruptured tendon in his knee. Ceri Jones replaces Mike Worsley who moves to the bench.

The Vos View

Quins’ captain Andre Vos is pleased with three wins from three games. “For sure, we can be pleased when we look back but we must re-focus on every game. We know Saracens enjoy playing at home so we must focus on beating them.”

I asked Andre if he was happy with the way he was performing and whether he enjoyed playing open side flanker. “I’m fairly happy with things at the moment. We’ve got a lot of big hearts in our side at the moment who make my job easier. I do enjoy playing open side but I’ll play anywhere in the back row.

I said that the loss of Simon Miall is a blow to the club. “It’s a huge blow. He has done particularly well since he has got into the side and has had a big influence. I watched the video the other day and it was a really freakish thing to happen. He was playing excellent rugby. Jim Evans did really well when he came on and I’m sure he will do a good job.”

Huge Blow (pic Simon Jones)

“Although we beat Saracens pre-season, we had played a lot more games than they had and were better prepared. They have some good forwards and very good strike runners so there will be no complacency on our part. It will be nice to meet up with Taine Randell again. He is a big game player, very experienced, a very good ball runner and can have a huge influence on games.”

Sarries Line Up

Saracens make two changes to the side that were beaten 30 – 7 by Gloucester at Kingsholm last week. James Parkes replaces Joe Ross at hooker. Joe moves to the bench and Ben Johnston replaces Paul Bailey at centre.

Alex Codling was unavailable for selection due to a hamstring injury. Thomas Casteigne has returned from injury after being taken off during the Gloucester match.

Codling lining up for Quins at Vicarage Road last seson (pic Simon Jones?)

Saracens have had a pretty disjointed pre season and season. Australian Rod Kafer came in as backs coach from Leicester and then Head Coach Wayne Shelford was dismissed. A number of coaches were believed to have been approached for the Head Coach role. In particular, Australia Under 21 coach Laurie Fisher was targeted as Shelford’s replacement but those plans fell through. Kafer had been taking pre season training and no one else that Sinderberry saw seemed better suited than Kafer. Since then Sarries have had two points deducted for fielding James Parkes who was deemed an ineligible player.

At prop, Englishman Stephen Sparks previously from Castres plays. Stephen came through the Sarries junior ranks. His promotion this week may be a reflection on Joe Ross’s throwing in last week.. The second row has been significantly strengthened with the signing of Simon Raiwalui from Newport. Raiwalui is another tough and uncompromising figure. In the pre season friendly his fist accidently connected with James Hayter’s face and has kept James out of action for some time. Simon has attracted some publicity through his decision not play for Fiji during the World Cup.

The 6’ 6” Kris Chesney has been playing second row for in recent games. He is a very strong runner, being able to clock 11.2 seconds for the 100 metres and therefore will provide a danger in the loose. In the back row, former All Black Captain Taine Randell has been signed from Otago. Taine has made an excellent start to his career with Saracens. There are some similarities between him and Quins’ captain Andre Vos. They are both 28 years old, have captained their countries and can play anywhere in the back row. No club could replace Richard Hill in the back row but Randell has certainly added another dimension to their back row. He is strong in the tackle and a great ball carrier. He also provides a presence at the tail of the line out. Ryan Peacey has played in all three games. He has been capped by England at Under 16, 18 and 21 level. Tony Roques is very quick around the park, as many will have witnessed when watching him playing sevens for England.

Kyran Bracken’s absence with England and Morgan Williams absence with Canada sees Dan Kirton take the scrum half berth. He is the son of former All Black scrum half Earl Kirton and is a typical New Zealand scrum half with a quick pass and the ability to take on the opposition back row. The mercurial Andy Goode plays Fly Half. On his day he can be the complete Fly Half, he can run well, kick excellently and boss a game. Unfortunately, his head can go down quickly when things go against him and he can be wound up, an example being his petulant kick of the ball into The Shed at Gloucester last week. It’s impossible to replace a player like Tim Horan but Kevin Sorrell and Ben Johnston are good players. In particular, Johnston has impressed me whenever I’ve seen him. He was left out against Gloucester last week due to a virus. His direct running and defence are excellent. Nathan McAvoy and Richard Haughton, England sevens players, provide plenty of pace. In particular, Haughton’s battle with Ugo Monye could provide plenty of column inches for Monday’s papers. Ugo got the better of Haughton in the pre season friendly and neither will want to give the other any space. The excellent Thomas Castaignede provides pace and guile at Full Back.

What's gone wrong then?

In Rod Kafer’s words Saracens “underestimated” Gloucester last Saturday. Gloucester gave them a very hard time up front, in the scrum and line out. Simon Amor ran them all over the place from Fly Half and we can expect a much more physical approach from Saracens at Vicarage Road.

Speaking on the Saracens’s website this week, Rod Kafer stated: "We've been focusing a lot of our attention on our set piece this week as we know that it is one of Harlequins many strengths. They're playing with confidence right now and we have to battle to meet them on a level playing field. The unavailability of Alex (Codling) was anticipated as, although his rehab has been going well, we always knew that it was a long shot him being fit in time for this game so we're obviously disappointed not to have one of our set piece specialists in the squad but we had always prepared to be without him."

What we can expect

So we must expect a stronger performance up front from Sarries than we saw last week or in the pre season friendly. But it is difficult to replace players like Califano and Flatman and Quins will see this as an area to exploit. The wild card will be the performance of inexperienced referee David Rose. He officiated in the Sale vs Bath match last week and according to Sale supporters, he helped them out by continually penalising Bath’s superior scrummage. We must hope for more consistency on Sunday. Sarries have a number of firey players in their pack including Raiwalui and Chesney, Quins have Tiatia and Davison who can mix it. The decision to give the game to so inexperienced a referee may produce more of a battle than we have been used to in the games between these sides.

The absence of Simon Miall could be crucial to Quins. He adds so much around the park, in the tackle area and at the line out. That said, I was really impressed with the way Jim Evans played when he came on last week. We all know he can carry the ball well and is a fine athlete but he stole a bit of opposition ball last week and made a couple of turnovers in the tackle area. Both second rows will need to produce good performances.

Quins’ back row have had a storming start to the season. In particular, Andre Vos has been sensational. They have turned over ball for fun and despite the presence of Randell, I can see Quins continuing that trend.

Fly-Halves

In the backs, Sarries will miss Kyran Bracken. Quins will also be hoping that Ben Willis can improve his service to Paul Burke this Sunday as it was a little patchy last week. The performances of the Fly Halves could be the key to the game. Paul Burke has had an excellent start to the season. He has really tried to mix his game up and boss the games. On the other hand which Andy Goode will turn up? If Sarries get a good start (and they are likely to come out of the blocks fast) then Goode can relax and start to play his game. He will bring his strong centres into the game, kick for position and look for his quick back three to find gaps. If he doesn’t settle and Quins’ back row get to him then his game can fall apart. Remember Goode turning his back on Nathan Williams for Quins’ try of the season last year? It’s not really relevant but it was great fun at the time.

Fly Halves will be key (pic Simon Jones)

Although they played reasonably well as individuals, I didn’t feel as though Mel Deane and Josh Taumalolo really gelled as a centre partnership last week. It’s bound to happen with such an unfamiliar back line but this week they could be given more space than they had against London Irish. I would like to see them try to bring in Gavin Duffy a as a runner. One thing is certain, they will need to bring their tackling boots against Sorrell and Johnstone.

Prediction

It’s difficult to predict matches between Quins and Sarries. In recent years they have been close high scoring affairs. Add an inexperienced referee to the equation and I may as well go with heads or tails. Quins should have the push in the scrum, but will the referee allow them to take advantage of it? Saracens have a stronger and more physical second row. Quins have a stronger back row. Sarries have a fly half who, on his day, can dominate a game, Quins’ Fly Half is more consistent. I could go on… Ugo or Haughton? Castaignede or Duffy? I’m really looking forward to the game and hoping that a more confident Quins side will carry the day.

 

Teams

Saracens: 15. Castaignede; 14. Haughton; 13.Johnston; 12. Sorrell; 11. McAvoy; 10. Goode; 9. Kirton; 1. Sparks; 2. Parkes; 3. Bergamaschi; 4. Raiwalui; 5. Chesney 6. Roques; 7. Peacey; 8. Randell

Replacements: 16. Kershaw; 17. Ross; 18. Marsters; 19. Skirving; 20. Phibbs; 21. Bailey; 22. Winnan

NEC Harlequins (probable): 15. Gavin Duffy; 14.Rob Jewell; 13. Josh Taumalolo; 12. Mel Deane; 11. Ugo Monye; 10. Paul Burke; 9. Ben Willis; 1. Ceri Jones; 2. Ace Tiatia; 3. Jon Dawson; 4. Bill Davison; 5.Jim Evans; 6. Pat Sanderson; 7. Andre Vos (Capt.); 8. Tony Diprose

Replacements: 16.Tani Fuga; 17. Mike Worsley; 18.Laurent Gomez; 19. Roy Winters; 20. Luke Sheriff; 21. Simon Keogh; 22. Andy Dunne