Harlequins
Harlequins v Exeter Chiefs: Teams and Updates
By Prof
September 24 2010
Marler makes his first start in the Premiership and Robshaw and Skinner celebrate their 100th appearances for Quins
After impressing in the opening three games of the Aviva Premiership Rugby season, 20-year-old Joe Marler will make his starting Premiership debut for Quins when they take on Exeter Chiefs tomorrow at the Stoop. He, and the rest of the Quins team, will be led out by back row duo Chris Robshaw and Will Skinner, who will both be celebrating their 100th appearance for Quins.
There are a handful of changes to the side that started against Sale Sharks last Friday at Edgeley Park.
In the forwards, Joe Marler comes into the front row to combine with Matt Cairns and James Johnston, while Nick Easter reverts to his familiar number 8 position. Ollie Kohn returns to partner Tomas Vallejos in the second row.
In the backs, Quins fans will welcome the return of Danny Care who was a late withdrawal from the Sale game. Gonzalo Camacho, who impressed after coming on for the injured Tom Williams last Friday, starts on the wing.
On the bench, 19-year-old English qualified Ross Chisholm, who can play any position across the back three, makes his first Premiership appearance in the Quins shirt.
Harlequins V Exeter Chiefs, Saturday 25th September. The Stoop. Aviva Premiership Rugby. Kick off 3pm.
Exeter Chiefs
Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter is backing Matt Jess to play a key role when he makes his first Aviva Premiership start in Saturday’s fixture at the Twickenham Stoop (3pm).
Having picked an unchanged starting XV for the club’s first three top flight games this term, Baxter has been forced into change for this weekend’s encounter as centre Phil Dollman misses out because of a shoulder injury.
Dollman’s absence will certainly be considered a loss for the league newcomers, but at the same time it offers 26-year-old Jess his first opportunity to show his worth.
Ahead of kick-off, Baxter has little concern about putting Jess – who has scored 150 points for the club, including 14 tries last season – into his side for the club’s trip to the capital.
“Matt’s had a very good pre-season and done very well, this is just a fantastic opportunity for him,” said Baxter. “Dollman took a bit of a bang [against Newcastle]. He’s had two or three very good games for us, but it would be silly for us to try and force him through as it’s something that probably needs a rest.”
The loss of Dollman means Baxter has been forced to tinker slightly with his back division as Jess comes in on the right wing with Frenchman Nic Sestaret switching inside to partner Bryan Rennie in the visiting midfield.
“Nic moves to 13, so that is nothing new for him,” added Baxter. “He played a lot of rugby there for us last season and was very effective. Jessy played a full part on the wing last season, so we’re very confident with that line-up. They’ve played a lot of rugby together, which is key for us because one of our key fundamentals has been that we’ve been fairly settled so far this season.
“What Jessy does bring is a bit of extra pace, which I think will be very valuable to us up at Harlequins. It’s great forJessy being in there having a start and he thoroughly deserves it, not just for the work he did in pre-season but the good work he put in last season and the season before. He’s a key part of what we’re about here.”
Other than the Dollman/Jess change, the Chiefs will take to the field with the same line-up which has so far seen them secure two victories in three starts.
That means included in the Exeter pack will be James Hanks, the sole survivor in this weekend’s team that featured the last time the two clubs locked horns at The Stoop five years ago. On that occasion Harlequins thumped their Devon visitors 70-5 with England and British Lions winger Ugo Monye running in five tries.
The Chiefs, however, gained their revenge later in the season when they inflicted the only defeat of Quins’ promotion-winning campaign with a 13-8 success at the old County Ground.
Much has changed in the intervening years for both clubs, but this weekend it will be the Chiefs who head into this latest battle with a slight upper hand. Whereas Baxter’s side sit fifth in the current standings, their hosts are positioned next to bottom having yet to win a game.
Baxter, though, is duly cautious of the rival threat and has told his troops to prepare accordingly, whilst at the same time look to continue their own good form.
“We went to Leicester in a very similar situation when they’d lost their opening game – and that doesn’t happen very often,” said the Exeter coach. “Harlequins have got themselves in a position right now they’re not comfortable with, but at the same time that doesn’t really alter the game for us.
“The game for us is to go up there and play as well as we can. There will be a bit of pressure on them, whether that brings the best out of them or the worst, I guess only time will tell.
“We’re obviously delighted to have eight points on the board, but these guys know this is only the start of a very tough season for us. That means they’re working very hard and as long as we keep doing that and don’t take anything for granted we’ll be a good side.”
Teams
| Harlequins | Exeter Chiefs |
|---|---|
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14 Matt Jess
13 Nic Sestaret
12 Bryan Rennie
11 Mark Foster
10 Gareth Steenson
9 Haydn Thomas
1 Brett Sturgess
2 Neil Clark
3 Hoani Tui
4 Tom Hayes (capt)
5 James Hanks
6 Tom Johnson
7 James Scaysbrook
8 James Phillips
Replacements
16 Simon Alcott
17 Ben Moon
18 Chris Budgen
19 Dave Gannon
20 Chad Slade
21 Junior Poluleuligaga
22 Ryan Davis
23 Paul McKenzie
[www.rugbynetwork.net]
tigers failed to beat them comfortably at home so not so sure why you think we should. people need to stop thinking o them as a second rate championship team
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There are a handful of changes to the side that started against Sale Sharks last Friday at Edgeley Park.
In the forwards, Joe Marler comes into the front row to combine with Matt Cairns and James Johnston, while Nick Easter reverts to his familiar number 8 position. Ollie Kohn returns to partner Tomas Vallejos in the second row.
In the backs, Quins fans will welcome the return of Danny Care who was a late withdrawal from the Sale game. Gonzalo Camacho, who impressed after coming on for the injured Tom Williams last Friday, starts on the wing.
On the bench, 19-year-old English qualified Ross Chisholm, who can play any position across the back three, makes his first Premiership appearance in the Quins shirt.
Harlequins V Exeter Chiefs, Saturday 25th September. The Stoop. Aviva Premiership Rugby. Kick off 3pm.
Harlequins Team
1 JOE MARLER
2 MATT CAIRNS
3 JAMES JOHNSTON
4 OLLIE KOHN
5 TOMAS VALLEJOS
6 CHRIS ROBSHAW (Captain)
7 WILL SKINNER
8 NICK EASTER
9 DANNY CARE
10 NICK EVANS
11 GEORGE LOWE
12 JORDAN TURNER-HALL
13 OLLIE SMITH
14 GONZALO CAMACHO
15 MIKE BROWN
16 CHRIS BROOKER
17 CERI JONES
18 MARK LAMBERT
19 PETE BROWNE
20 TOM GUEST
21 KARL DICKSON
22 RORY CLEGG
23 ROSS CHISHOLM
And congratulations to Chris and Will on their 100th appearances. Here's looking forward to their 200th!
Congrats to Chris & Will on their 100th appearance
Quote:will_quin
Yes! Mullet Marler starts!
Still no danger and lewis
I thought it was Mohawk Marler?
Or 'Sir' if you're speaking to him face to face.
Ollie Smith really needs to sort his game out asap. still feel sam smith should have started on the wing with george at centre. really want him and jth to form a partnership at centre which can't happen with him out on the wing. I realise we have a pretty bad injury list out there, but there are still enough fit specialist wingers.
Still, decent looking eam and looking forward to a good match and motm performances from the two centurions
Threads merged by the way
We're only on the 4th match and we've already got half a team out it seems....
Roll on Saturday, I hope we finally click, get some possession and do something with it!
quite a few young props around now, but other than dan cole none has really staked a proper claim. I never really know who plays what side, but corbisiero, wood and mullan have all been talked about for a while but none has really stepped up (early days I know, not meant to be a criticism of them; just saying that I don;t think it's all that fanciful to imagine marler being a dark horse)
Doran-Jones looks useful, but I think he's mostly a tighthead, not 100% sure on that.
Realistically, Marler has only fellow tyros (Nathan Catt?) and old gits (Tim Payne) ahead of him for a squad place - assuming Sheridan comes back to form and stays fit, which is becoming a real problem for him.
O Fortuna, velut luna statu variabilis,
semper crescis aut decrescis
O Fortuna, velut luna statu variabilis,
semper crescis aut decrescis
