By Wyddy
April 19 2013

Gird the loins, strap on the thermals, make ready with the immodium! It’s the pointy end of the season! 

Conor and Co may have finally righted the steadily faltering good ship Harlequin, with a solid win against Bath, but the Quartered faithful will require more evidence that this is a team back on track to find a semblance of their old selves prior to play off time. 

Worcester on the other hand have been beset by back page news this week, with not only the departure of Richard Hill and the news of his replacement, Dean Ryan, but also the news of the ban for Matavesi. Wuss unfortunately have nothing but pride left to play for this season, as they cannot improve on their 9th position. However they now have to fight to impress their new coach and try to give their crowd something to hope for for next season other than their stolid refusal to be drawn into the relegation scrap this season. On a more sour note for Worcester fans this will also be their last home game for fan favourites, Matt Mullen, Andy Goode and Matt Kvesic who are all off to greener pastures at Gloucester and Wasps. 

Worcester fans deserve better really for the patience and faith of Cecil Duckworth, their long time owner, however how long will his patience with the club last if they can’t crack on from the bottom rung of the Premiership? They have great facilities up at Sixways and a core support that are a credit to the club. They’ve been through a series of coaches who have failed to get the best out of a team looking to break into that top 6 club. Dean Ryan will certainly have a job on his hands, especially with the aforementioned loss of Mullan, Goode and Kvesic. A golden opportunity to replace Kvesic was missed this week when Newcastle’s Dean Richards snaffled up England Saxon, Andy Saull, who not so long ago was touted for England honours. 

The Premiership has been a sobering place for both clubs recently, however Quins can at least point to their last game for signs of recovery, Worcester unfortunately have been on the wrong end of their last 3 games, their last win coming on the 1st March, squeaking past the Pests at home. However their team selection for Saturdays encounter goes to show they’re serious about giving their fans something to hold on to for next season. Worcester have shown they’re capable of putting together periods of play where they can put the hurt on other teams, their inconsistency has been their Achilles heel this season. The same could be said of Quins, most regular readers will know that I hark back to the Leicester away game this season as the last time we hit the heights. 

However Conor is going hell for leather at Sixways. He’s named the exact same team that won the final for us at Big Stoop last year. In comes Jordan Turner-Hall after much discussion of his recent absences, also back in the team is Big Maurie Fa’asavalu. Tom Guest unluckily dropping to the bench after another good showing against Bath. Quins fans will also not be getting a glimpse of many fans touted future back row this weekend as Luke Wallace doesn’t make the bench. However Ross Chisholm returns on the bench to give us a bit of turbo later in the game, also lining up on the bench is Ben Botica who had such an impact on the Bath game when he came on last week. This optionality on the bench should see Quins in fine fettle travelling up, as if JTH and Lowe don’t rediscover their chemistry in the first half we can alter the way we play by bringing BB on. 

Up front it’s the 3 amigos of Marler, Gray and Johnston once more backed up by the grunt of Ollie Kohn and George Robson, who will be sporting his new nose courtesy of Nick Evans who lines up at 10 with Danny Care inside him at 9. 

One of the big collision areas this weekend will yet again be the breakdown, which seems to be dominating the modern game. Matt Kvesic will be eager to show up his England captain and main rival under Stuart Lancaster for the No7 shirt. Many argue that as Kvesic is a more natural open side flanker, in the typical fetcher mould, that he should be given a chance in the national team. However Robshaw will be looking to make his mark once again after a quiet couple of games after his return from International duty. Let’s hope Captain Fantastic has been keeping his powder dry for the business end of the season, it’s in games like this where the team will need his inspiration to keep on motoring if Worcester manage to eek ahead on penalties and get the scoreboard ticking over with Goode’s boot. 

End of the day this is the litmus test for Quins this season, Worcester aren’t going to make this easy, and our boys need to prove to themselves and to us that they have the mettle to compete in the upcoming playoffs. No more resting on laurels, if they want to be more than a flash in the pan then the senior players once again have to stand up and be counted. NEv needs to play the basics right first then once established we can look to more adventurous play, lets just hope he’s bringing his good boots with him. DC needs to pick up from where he left off against Bath, he was starting to become the fulcrum again that we haven’t seen since before the 6 Nations. The pack collectively need to gain their spurs back, smash Worcester back in the loose and dominate in the set pieces, our line out needs to get back to the weapon it used to be... 

So many opportunities here to rediscover the way they have played before... it’s all in their hands. 

COME ON YOU QUINS!!! 

Quins by 12.