To kick us off, a question that’s been debated at length on the Comeallwithin Message Board: ‘Does noise/activity during penalty kicks/conversions adversely affect the kicker?’

Over to Burkey:
‘Doesn’t put me off one bit’. Burkey said that most kickers put pressure on themselves and very few are put off by the noise made by supporters. A kicker just concentrates on what he does in practice and tries to stay focused. For Mark Evans’s views – see last Saturday’s programme.

Next a question to Mark Evans about the rules governing eligibility of overseas players.

Mark:
Regulations drawn up during the RWC mean you are allowed to play 3 non-European qualified players. After that it’s one non-EU player. At the moment we’ve got one non-EU qualified player (Ace). The recent Kolpeck ruling (involving an eastern European handball player) it may be that if you are a citizen of a country which has trading links with Europe, then you should be allowed to play in a European country. A work permit would still be needed and the player would need to have played internationally in the past 15 months.

Onto one of our favourites, Mr Stuart Barnes who’s recently been talking about ‘a new era of rugby’ where ball retention is not important [surely if you don’t have the ball, you can’t score . . .??!] Anyway, the question was ‘is that Quins’ game plan or have the players just been crap at hanging onto the ball?’

Mark:
Australia (who ME reckons will be a force in this RWC) won the 1999 RWC based on good defence and they ran sequences or patterns. Rob McQueen was the arch disciple of that way of play. A lot of teams play attacking rugby to break this down and at the same time recognise that you score a huge percentage of tries immediately from turnovers. The focus has shifted. 3 or 4 years ago it was to keep the ball through multiple phases and you will eventually break through. Now, sides that are successful need to have in their ranks 5 or 6 players who can break a line by good footwork etc.
[Australia? Pah! Bring ‘em on :o)]

Ah, another favourite subject – the officials . . . from Lucky Shirt. ‘Do you see the need for more professional rugby referees in the years to come? Have they kept pace?’

Mark: [I thought this was ‘meet the players’???]
Unlike Bob Hillier [who he?], I don’t think refereeing standards are too bad at all. I think they have kept pace OK. I have had no problems with the two we have had this season [remember this took place BEFORE Saturday’s game!]. Refereeing is very difficult and rugby is a complex sport. Mistakes are inevitable and you have to take the rough with the smooth. It’s an easy option for the coach to blame the officials. In the premiership there are 5 or 6 very good referees [no, he didn’t name them!] A few years ago there were only 2 or 3. Some who were very, very average are now perfectly OK. Coaches have a duty to the game not to slag off officials during a press conference. They (the officials) are not allowed to talk to the press. I don’t think any of them are biased or are cheats – they do not go out to make mistakes.

And a question from Kwin to new boys George Harder and Ben Willis ‘How are you settling in to the club and how does it compare with your old clubs?’

Ben:
I’m impressed with the turnout tonight. It’s been an outstanding couple of months and the 2 wins have helped. The whole set up is fantastic, including the supporters [yeah, I think we’re pretty good too :o)]. The BBQ was great and it was nice to have a pint with the supporters or coaches like you would a team-mate [Barbara – stop swooning!]. It’s a very relaxed atmosphere and the players have responsibility for themselves.

George:
I’m really enjoying the rugby. My first game was against Wasps and we had great support. The team spirit is great – as well as the team management.

By this time, Scotty has been running around the place like the proverbial fly with a blue bottom! It’s his fault for not taking any questions from the first row of ‘supporters’.

Next question – ‘If you had to pick one team to ‘hammer’, which one would it be?’

Billy D:
Wasps is always a big game. If we can win away at Wasps that will always be a big win [we can, Bill, we can!!]. London Irish is also a big game and that’s the one I’m focussing on right now. [You know something? I reckon we can win that one too!]

Roy:
Now, I’m sure Roy said ‘it’s Newcastle who get me up’ (cue lots of laughter from the front row and a certain Mr Scott), but I don’t think that’s QUITE what he meant. How about this :

Newcastle is always a bit game for me. It’s the type of play which makes it an enjoyable game. The way they play gives me a chance to snuffle the ball [Say NOTHING, BQ, say NOTHING!]

Thinking that this is getting a tad dangerous, the compere moved on to another question. ‘Could the panel comment on the very front-loaded ZP?’

Mark:
The ZP is always front-loaded. In the latter months you have the Cup matches, the European competitions and the Six Nations. You know you are going to play every week for a couple of months. The first half of the season is a huge opportunity for us and if we get it wrong we will put ourselves under a lot of pressure. I’m a bit tired of that [Hear! Hear!]

We are a high profile club and we get a lot of attention. John Kingston has a saying that equates rugby with golf.

If you win at home or lose away, that’s ‘par’
If you win away, that’s a birdie
If you lose at home, that’s a bogey.
To end up 2 under par is a good score

[So, not so many bogeys methinks!]

If we were to lose on Saturday [we won’t do that you silly person!], and then not get a result at Sarries, it will be tough to play Newcastle on 11th October. When Will and Jason come back from the World Cup [I hope with Winners’ Medals!] we hope to be in an exciting position. I really want to see where we are after 5 or 6 games.

OK, back to players: ‘George, what made you want to transfer from Leeds?’ Before George can answer there are shouts of ‘money’ from Mr Evans.

George:
Harlequins has a long history and I knew a few players here already (Ace and Tani) and I asked them what it was like. They gave me a good report

And, ‘You all do a fabulous job, but how is Ugo taking all this attention?’

Scotty:
Who’s Ugo? He has had the mickey taken out of him and is referred to as ‘the legend that is Ugo’ [Ah, bless!]

Mark:
He’s really pleased because I’m picking him. It’s very important that not too much pressure is put on him. Marcel Garvey burst onto the scene last year but has since gone a bit downhill. The 7s is good for that because it’s played abroad mostly and is good for a player’s development. It was good for Nicky Duncombe and it will be good for Ugo, but we have to take the long term view. Ugo won’t keep scoring like he is. He is bound to hit a bit of a blip and it’s important that he doesn’t get carried away and that he just concentrates on his rugby. He’s just turned 20. If he keeps improving he will have a long career and hopefully will turn into a star. Our job is to concentrate on the rugby and then a year or two he can get involved in other stuff.

At this point Mark says he feels like Rory Bremner – we reckon he’s more of a Jack Dee to be honest!

And onto the ‘talismanic’ Mr Wood ‘Keith Wood doesn’t have a club but is going to the RWC with Ireland. Can we include him in Quins’ plans?’

Mark:
No. As a player for budget reasons; but also, he’s retired and that’s it. I’ve got my squad. I don’t honestly think he will play much club rugby after the World Cup. He was a fantastic servant of the club and was brilliant in every game during my first season.

Right, a question for Scotty: ‘Has the club got any plans for TV coverage of England’s RWC game on 18th October?’

Mark:
The games will be shown at the Stoop and the club will probably be open earlier than usual. We are going to try to get more screens.

And one for George: ‘Have you had a race with Ugo?’

George:
My side’s the trucking side; the speed is on the other side!

‘How do you prepare, on an individual basis, for the matches?’

Billy D
I try to have the same routine every week but it’s not an exact science.

Roy:
I’m pretty laid back. I like to have a laugh and a joke, but you get to know your team-mates and which ones will want to stay focussed before a match [Who? Who?]. Oh, and I won’t touch my shirt before I run out.

Burkey:
I’m a bit of a freak before a match [I don’t think so, Burkey]. My wife doesn’t like me very much. I like to watch a Friday night match on BBC Wales [yeah, I’m seeing her point now!], and then I wake up about 6am on the Saturday and the game starts going around in my head. I have breakfast. When the team meets I get much more relaxed, especially when I get to the Stoop and feel the atmosphere of the game.

Ben:
I try to keep the food and the physical preparation the same, but otherwise I’m pretty laid back. The coaches meet at the gym to get the central nervous system going. I also have lucky undies [you can’t say that sort of thing, Ben, there’ll be ladies fainting all over the place!], and it’s always right sleeve etc., before left. Once you are on the pitch though, you’re fine.
And according to Ben, it’s the front row you want to avoid before a match!!

George:
I’m not very talkative before a match, My mind is fixed on the game but I say some prayers before I get on the field.

‘What do you think of us being “more Irish than the Irish”?’

Mark:
It’s good. We even had an Irish newspaper here for the photoshoot which is more than London Irish did! They are all very easy going and sociable and they have added something special to the club. Saturday will be a big game – one of the biggest games of the year with the added spice that Paul Burke is on standby for the RWC. It will be an intriguing game.


‘What are the players’ views on Video Refs for tries?’

Billy D:
I have no problem with the Video Referee. Sometimes it takes a long time but as long as they make the right decision . . .

Roy:
I agree. It’s only TV games which have VRs. Crucial decisions are made when there is none.

Burkey:
Without the VR, the Greening try for Wasps would have been given. So I think they are a good thing. We could also have them for dubious line calls.

Ben:
It’s good to know that any work you do to stop a try gets recognised and when there is no VR the try normally goes to the home team. It would be good to have them at every game for tries alone.

George:
I agree with Ben!

Mark:
It’s great for the crowd so long as the screen is there. At Rotherham it was very tense. I think it should only be used for grounding and touching goal decisions. I don’t want it to be like rugby league where it has become part of the theatre. Also, with VR, you need at least 12 cameras and that only happens with televised games. Obviously Lewis’s try clearly wasn’t; Ugo’s try clearly was :o) (cue laughing from the audience!), but they both got referred back to the referee. The Greening try on 13th September would have been given without the VR every time.



And a question regarding the support from Melvin: ‘Is there anything that the supporters can do to make it better on the day?’

Ben:
It was fantastic at the away games to see a bunch of supporters [couldn’t miss us could he?] It gives us an amazing boost. The noise at home is pretty mind-blowing; the first time I ran onto the pitch here I had goosebumps [Aw, bless!]

Burkey:
The support is fantastic [and apparently our singing of ‘We love you Burkey’ is OK too]. We want the Stoop to be a place where other teams don’t want to play. The more vocal the support, the better it is. When we hit a low patch the supporters really count as supporters. It’s hard to get behind the team when they are not scoring but that’s when we really need you the most.

‘So, what do you all think of the new shirts?’

A unanimous, and very diplomatic, ‘they’re great’.

Not so much a question, but at this point there was a request that Quins manage to ‘stuff it up Sale’ this season!!!

‘Who would you tip to be the next International player at Quins?’

Mark:
Billy Davison has been overlooked for far too long . . . [giggles]
It’s a disgrace that Roy has only toured and not played [we nod in agreement]

Ceri Jones will play for Wales I think [no disrespect to Ceri, who’s obviously great, but I think I could play for Wales at the present moment]

‘What are the plans for development at the Stoop?’

Mark:
We have the smallest premiership ground so we are at a commercial disadvantage. This will eventually filter through to the team. Although the capacity is the lowest, the crowd isn’t. In the next 3-4 years though we will have the smallest crowds as well as the smallest ground. We have to develop. We have options. We can either leave [Ahem – I don’t think we’d like that you know!], or we can redevelop [YAY! Much better idea]. It’s an open secret that there is a planning application lodged for the North Stand which would mean another 2,500 covered seats which we hope will be in by the start of next season. That’s only a stop-gap though. We need a new West Stand and a new South Stand. We ran the club at a £200k loss last year.

The West Stand also has to have more ‘rugby’ facilities – changing rooms, referees’ room etc [ME suggested charging the officials for the privilege . . . .!] We want capacity to be 12,000 – 13,000 in the next 3 or 4 years but that will take lots of sensitivity with the local residents and lots of planning, but we need to build to compete.

And no, you can’t have a new scoreboard – it doesn’t bring in any revenue [Oh, alright then :o)]

On the subject of changing rooms . . . ‘What were Rotherham’s changing rooms like? We hear West Ham refused to change there.’

Billy D:
Soccer changing rooms only cater for 11 players remember and so they are a bit cramped. Luckily all our doctor/physio activity took place al fresco. What are the worst ‘Away’ changing rooms? [Well, folks, I could tell you, but that wouldn’t be very politic, so I won’t!]

‘Are we going to get Ref Link?’

[I thought we already had it – Prof telling the Ref what he should be doing every week, but apparently that’s not what they mean . . . . .]

Mark:
Ref Link is a way of generating revenue, but you pay for a very irritating headset that sounds like you are listening to Radio Moscow. Yes, I’m sure we’ll get it!

‘Is there any contract news?’

Mark:
I wouldn’t rule out re-signing Billy Fulton if he became available [at this point several medics rushed in – no not because Scotty was worn out running around the Stoop with the microphone – but because Barbara had come over all faint!]

When you take over a club you have players that a) you don’t fancy [ME’s words, not mine!] and b) have a short-term role. Sometimes you sign players who don’t do what you hope they will, but that’s down to me. The squad we have now is my squad; I have chosen it. If it’s not good enough, that’s down to me.


At that point, we decided to call it a night. It was a very entertaining evening and huge thanks to Mark, Scotty, Billy, Roy, Paul, Ben and George, for taking part.
Oh, and Evs – from where I sit your squad’s looking pretty good so far!

Bookmark or share this story with:

• Digg
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon

SPORTNETWORK SPECIALS

• Think you know your sport? Click here to try the Sportnetwork Prize Quizzes