By KevT
March 25 2004

NEC Harlequins take on Leicester Tigers at The Stoop on Saturday at 3.00pm in the “second leg” of their home and away set of Zurich Premiership League matches. Quins make four changes to the team that lost to The Tigers last week. Jason Leonard starts in place of Jon Dawson, Ace Tiatia plays instead of Pat Sanderson who is in Hong Kong for the Sevens, Andre Vos returns from his sister’s wedding and takes over from Luke Sherriff. Ugo Monye plays instead of Matt Moore. Will Greenwood is absent with the England squad, Henry Barratt, Chris Bell and Andy Reay are with the England Under 21 team. Paul Burke and George Harder are absent with injuries.

It’s great to see Jason Leonard back at tight head prop to lock horns with his former England colleague Graham Rowntree. Mike Worsley’s ball carrying skills see him have the edge over Ceri Jones at the moment at loose head. I hope that Karl Rudzki who wins a place at second row can control his discipline around the tackle area as Quins can ill afford to lose players to the bin. It cost them dearly at Wasps and Leicester in Quins’ last two matches. It’s great to see Ace Tiatia back to face Martin Johnson again. His presence always seems to give the team a lift. Luke Sherriff can count himself unlucky to lose his place in the back row after what was apparently an excellent performance last week. Andre Vos’ tackling will have been missed last week. At the risk of repeating myself, I think Simon Keogh is a better option at scrum half than Ben Willis. With Ugo Monye returning I’m surprised that Mark Evans has chosen two flyers, Keogh and Monye on the wing. I would have expected to see Monye and the muscular Rob Jewell.

Leicester make two changes to the team that beat Quins last week. Will Johson takes Martin Corry’s place as he is with England. Ollie Smith has a groin injury and is replaced by John Holtby on the wing. Ben Kay and Julian White are also with the England squad and Geordan Murphy is with the Irish squad.

This is not the same Leicester team that struggled earlier in the season and to a certain extent struggled after the return of some of their players from World Cup duty. Defeat against Ulster, exit from the Heineken and Powergen Cups and the prospect of no Heineken Cup rugby next year galvanised the Leicester board into dismissing Dean Richards. John Wells is now Head Coach and Neil Back has now taken on a coaching role. The team has responded with four wins on the trot against London Irish away in the League, The Barbarians at home, Northampton by 18 - 5 at Franklin's Gardens two weeks ago and Quins were beaten 30 – 21 last week.

At loose head prop, the experienced Graham Rowntree with Welsh international Darren Morris replacing him at Tight Head. He made the journey over from Wales last season. He has not always delivered on his undoubted talent but on his day he is a force to be reckoned with. The absence of Julian White with England will probably hit Leicester in this area. The Tigers scrum is not quite as fearsome a proposition without White. Dorian West plays at hooker and is one of the most accurate throwers in at the line out in the league. Ex Saracens hooker, George Chuter is an able deputy from the bench. In the second row, Martin Johnson will obviously make a big difference to the Tigers pack. He is a feisty competitor who galvanises this side. Lewis Deacon comes in to replace Ben Kay in the second row. He is absent with England. In the back row, Will Johnson is a good club player but the Tigers will miss the option that Corry gives at the back of the line out. Neil Back plays open side for Leicester. He has taken additional responsibilities in the coaching department now. He is a great snaffler and slower down of opposition ball. Everyone is used to seeing him at the end of the Tigers' rolling maul but for me it is the role he plays tidying up his own team's ball and his link play with the backs that makes him such a great player. At Number Eight Henry Tuilagi played last week. Henry is a tough Samoan and the type of Number Eight that has given Quins problems in the past. i.e. Bath Number Eight Isaac Feuanati, Epi Taione and Junior Paramore.

Harry Ellis has been playing scrum half and along with Leeds’ Clive Stuart Smith is viewed as one of the most talented young scrum halves in the country. Jaco Van Westhuyzen has provided a crucial creative role at Fly Half. The former South African Full Back has signed a contract to play in Japan next season but he's made such an impact that Leicester have been doing all they can to keep him. Ex All Black Inside centre Daryl Gibson is one of the best exponents in this type of area in the league. He is a strong runner, great tackler and acts as a foil for the elusive Leon Lloyd, a former target for Quins who plays outside centre. He is quick but doesn’t always retain the ball in the tackle and does drop the ball a bit. Leicester will miss Ollie Smith. Clive Woodward has marked him down as one of the best young centres in the country. He is deceptively quick and makes a great outside break. He was selected on the wing last week. Someone has likened him to a Rolls Royce with the way he moves. Former England Under 21 John Holtby takes his place. He is a big lad at 6’ 3” and 15 and a half stone. On the wing Austin Healey plays. He has had a long period out with injury but he is a great broken field runner. His battle of “past” against “future” with Ugo Monye will be interesting.

Leicester have struggled since the departure of Tim Stimpson to Perpignan with their kicking. The low point was the the match against Stade Francais at Welford Road where Van der Westhuyzen missed a number of kicks. Since Stimpson's departure Leicester have signed the mercurial Andy Goode. Goode was released by Saracens earlier in the season and after an unsuccessful spell at Fly Half for the Tigers, has moved to Full Back. Goode is a good runner with some pace. He is also a pretty good place kicker. His defence can be exploited as his larger frame makes him a target if the opposition team decide to kick the ball around the park. Quins' try of the season last year saw Nathan Williams turn him inside and out at The Stoop.

This is a difficult match to call. Leicester’s had the edge last week but Quins gave them a 17 point start. Quins lack of match practice seemed to catch them cold.. I think the key will be the performance of the "older Tigers". A couple of seasons ago no one would have been questioning their abilities or commitment. A couple of seasons on and the Tigers seem fallible even at Fortress Welford Road. Quins' pack is a match for any team and they seem to have a harder edge this season. Last year we were complaining that we didn’t have a “street wise” pack. They just need to stay on the right side of Tony Spreadbury this week. Their scrum should be a match for the Tigers and they disrupted Leicester ball well last week. They need to be able to secure their own ball better this week. Quins' back row is as good as any in the league. It is the form of the Quins’ half back pairing that could make all the difference. Ben Willis and Andy Dunne are house mates so they should have some sort of understanding. Willis’ pass has not been great this season and neither has Dunne’s kicking game. Having said that, they are a very quick duo. Against Wasps, Quins kicking game was not good enough and they gave away too many penalties. I think it will be their ability to keep Leicester and Andy Goode on the back foot with their kicking game and the referee's interpretation of the tackle area that will be crucial. Leicester like to play a wide game and if Quins can slow their ball down then they can remove a significant part of the Tigers’ threat.

It will be a close match but the speed of the Quins’ wings, the return of Vos and home advantage may give Quins the edge.

15. Gavin Duffy; 14. Ugo Monye; 13. Josh Taumalolo; 12. Mel Deane; 11. Simon Keogh; 10. Andy Dunne; 9. Ben Willis; 1. Mike Worsley; 2. Tani Fuga; 3. Jason Leonard; 4. Karl Rudzki; 5. Jim Evans; 6. Ace Tiatia; 7. Andre Vos (Capt.); 8. Tony Diprose

Replacements: 16. Laurent Gomez; 17. Ceri Jones; 18. Bill Davison; 19. Simon Miall; 20. Luke Sherriff; 21. Scott Bemand;22. Rob Jewell

15 Andy Goode; 14 Ollie Smith; 13 Leon Lloyd; 12 Daryl Gibson; 11 Austin Healey; 10 Jaco van der Westhuyzen; 9 Harry Ellis; 1 Graham Rowntree; 2 Dorian West ; 3 Darren Morris; 4 Martin Johnson (captain) ; 5 Louis Deacon; 6 Martin Corry; 7 Neil Back; 8 Henry Tuilagi

Replacements (from):

Michael Holford; George Chuter; Jim Richards; Ricky Nebbett; James Hamilton; Luke Abraham; Freddie Tuilagi; Glenn Gelderbloom; Dan Hipkiss; Steve Booth