By Behind the Bench
March 27 2015

  LV= Cup holders Saracens (doesn't that feel good) face another crucial match in their quest for league honours as they host Harlequins for the fourth time at Wembley, boasting an excellent recent run of form against the South West London side, with seven straight wins since Quins' 24-19 win in HA9 three years ago. However, the Quins side is at full strength again, and some of their best performances this season have come on the biggest stages....  

For those reading who like numbers, this match should attract a new record attendance for a club rugby match of at least 83,890. (That'd be quite a queue and a lot of disappointment if they all turned up at Allianz Park at the same time though....). With only five matches left, including pivotal encounters at home to Leicester Tigers and against Northampton Saints, with a home match against Exeter Chiefs and trip to London Welsh completing the quintet, Saracens will hope for a win, particularly on a weekend which sees top four rivals Northampton go head to head with Wasps and Leicester host Exeter in a repeat of the LV= Semi Final.

Saracens have beaten Quins twice this season, most notably the 39-0 win at the Stoop back in September, built on some outstanding defence by the visitors, and superb counter attacking play which yielded tries for Charlie Hodgson, Chris Ashton and Will Fraser, Hodgson collecting 20 points that night. The victorious LV= campaign began with an altogether tighter contest at Allianz Park which Sarries shaded 25-20 thanks to scores from Duncan Taylor, Mike Ellery and Jack Wilson, and the visitors could have snatched a dramatic win at the end only for the home defence to stand firm.

Although at first glance, it seems a hugely disappointing campaign for Quins given their modest eighth place in the table, out of the running for the top four, and clinging onto European top flight hopes, there have still been some highlights. What has harmed their efforts has been inconsistency, injuries, and, unusually, a "points for" tally amongst the lowest in the division, as, in the Saracens home match, sustained pressure has gone uncapitalised and they have found themselves disproportionately susceptible to counter attacks, most notoriously at home to Wasps in Europe. The latter aspect has been particularly ironic, as this has traditionally been one of Harlequins' strengths given their commitment to running rugby. Certainly, in the games in the Quins games I have seen live, they could have beaten Northampton home and away with better finishing, with their home European win against Leinster a better reflection of their true abilities.

Before Saracens' comprehensive win at the Stoop, Quins had opened the campaign with a 20-15 win over London Irish at the Double Header, through tries from Ugo Monye, who announced his retirement at the end of the season earlier this week, and Ollie Lindsay-Hague, but perhaps with a hint of things to come, they failed to score a second half point. They recovered from the Saracens' loss to edge out Wasps 26-23, again at the Stoop, despite being outscored by three tries to two, but they were well-beaten at Exeter. Back at home, they beat London Welsh 52-0, as Marland Yarde scored two tries against the basement side, and five other players contributed, but the theme of tight results soon returned as a losing bonus point was snared at Leicester.

Quins were chosen to open the "new European era" and duly earnt a 25-9 home win over Castres Olympique, whose form was absolutely miserable in this competition, and this was backed up by a 23-16 win at pre-Coventry Wasps to leave them in an excellent position in the European Champions Cup. After the narrow loss at Allianz Park, they beat Newport Gwent Dragons 31-21. with Sharks loan fly half Tim Swiel making a key impact in both of these LV= games. The growing sense of optimism was enhanced by

a first league win at Kingsholm in nearly 16 years, a 22-15 victory earnt by a powerful forward display as Quins came from 12-0 to win with tries from Nick Easter, Luke Wallace and a last-gasp effort from Charlie Walker.

But then, the bad and then good sides of inconsistency struck once more. Sale came to South West London having failed to beat Quins in seven games, but a late try gave the visitors a 16-12 win, and Harlequins lost further ground as they fell to a heavy loss at Bath, having, far from uniquely, failed to deal with the West Country side's forward power. Yet again, Europe was to provide the hope of something better, as Leinster visited the Stoop for the first time since the infamous 2009 Quarter Final, but Quins served up an emotional 24-18 win against the Irish province as the hosts benefitted from a side approaching full strength and claimed two tries compared to their opponents none. In the return match, they heartbreakingly lost out 14-13 at the Aviva Stadium, having scored 13 unanswered points to lead late in the match.

Back in the Premiership, they continued to stutter, nudging past Newcastle Falcons 15-7 with a quintet of penalties ahead of an epic Twickenham Big Game which saw a stirring performance just fail to secure victory in a 30-25 loss to the Saints. They successfully negotiated the banana skin of London Welsh with a 24-13 win and crucially backed this up with an excellent 32-12 home win over Leicester, again with a bonus point. Quins were undoubtedly back to their best. All the more disappointing then in a game which the term "lies, damn lies and statistics" might have been made for. With levels of possession and territory being reported as around 70% by the Quins website, not to mention the 200 tackles Wasps made, the Coventry side still won 23-3 as the home sides inability to convert pressure into points was all too clear.

In the aftermath of such a damaging result, Quins' bonus point win in Castres in the final European game was insufficient, as Wasps squeezed through to the Quarter Finals instead, having earnt a home draw with Leinster. The campaign all but unravelled in the aftermath, with a double LV loss at home to Bath and at Gloucester preceding a trio of Premiership defeats at Wasps, at home to Exeter Chiefs and at Northampton, although Quins could have snatched victory in the last of these. A 26-20 home win over London Irish earlier this month at least halted the slide, but it's hard to avoid the sense of unfulfilled promise, as thoughts turn to next season with some excellent signings already made including Welsh prop Adam Jones.

Writing before the teams were announced, a full strength line up seems likely for both sides with a lot(t) at stake; Saracens to press for the top two and Quins to try and make a last-ditch challenge for the European Champions Cup places. For Saracens, that should mean Alex Goode is at full back, with Chris Ashton and David Strettle on the wings, and a central partnership of Marcelo Bosch and Brad Barritt. If fit, Charlie Hodgson should be reunited with Richard Wigglesworth at half back, and into the forwards, Mako Vunipola should form the front row with Jamie George and Petrus du Plessis, with a second row of Maro Itoje and Alistair Hargreaves, and a back row of Jackson Wray, Jacques Burger and Billy Vunipola. In the Quins side, Mike Brown should be at full back, with Marland Yarde and Ugo Monye on the wings, and a centre partnership of Matt Hopper and Harry Sloan. Nick Evans will be at fly half with Danny Care at scrum half, whilst in the forwards, the front row could comprise of Joe Marler, Dave Ward and Matthew Shields; the second row consisting of George Robson and Charlie Matthews, and a back row of Jack Clifford, Chris Robshaw and Nick Easter.