European Challenge Cup Pool 3: Harlequins v Montpellier, 12 November

     
Harlequins v Montpellier
Thursday 12 November 2015
KO 19:45
The Stoop, Twickenham

Live on Sky Sports / beIN Sports

Referee Ian Davies (Wales)
Touch Judge 1 Simon Rees (Wales)
Touch Judge 2 Stuart Kibble (Wales)
Fourth Official Simon McConnell (England)
TMO Gareth Simmonds (Wales)
Citing Commissioner Dennis Jones (Wales)

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HARLEQUINS

Form:

06/11/2015 Aviva Prem
16 - 14 v Sale (h) W
31/10/2015 Aviva Prem
38 - 28 v Bath (a) W
25/10/2015 Aviva Prem
19 - 22 v Leicester (a) L
16/10/2015 Aviva Prem
26 - 21 v Wasps (h) W

Harlequins have started the season strongly with 3 wins from their last 4 games, lately narrowly over coming a dogged Sale team at home before their first European game. They look to be taking the tournament seriously as for that last Prem match they rotated most of their key players, no not England's Marler, Robshaw or Brown; The players that have made the biggest difference from last seasons tepid form have been new signings Adam Jones and James Horwill and recent academy graduate Harry Sloan. The former two have added steel to a pack that lacked a lot of fight for long parts of last season, with Jones looking far better then his last form for Wales, and Horwill bringing all his Australia captain credentials with him to galvanise the young academy lad Twomey playing at his side. In the backs Sloan has added a bit more oomph to a slightly limp backline, he's happy to carry slow ball into traffic and tackles well above his weight.

Around these and others finding form Quins look to be building a side that can wrestle and scrap with the best of them, good at the breakdown and scrums they create plenty of ball, and with Nick Evans finding form use it well. The biggest worry is their poor lineout, often losing key ball on their own throw.


MONTPELLIER

Form:
7/11/2015 Top 14
52 - 8 v Toulon (a) L
31/10/2015 Top 14
25 - 33 v Toulouse (h) L
24/10/2015 Top 14
24 - 19 v Clermont (h) W
16/10/2015 Top 14
30 - 19 v Grenoble (a) W
12/09/2015 Top 14
44 - 20 v Stade Francais (h) W
06/09/2015 Top 14
24 - 22 v Bordeaux-Beg (a) W
29/08/2015 Top 14
16 - 26 v Pau (a) L

I haven't been watching the Top 14 but after a quick read - Ignore that last loss, playing a weakened side against a Toulon team looking to make a statement at home was always likely to end badly. Like their opponents to be Montpellier rested key players but unlike Harlequins were utterly out played by their opposition on the day. They'll have a lot more to bring to The Stoop against Quins though with the formidable bulk of the Du Plessis brothers back from the RWC and potentially Trinh-Duc back from injury. Otherwise Montpellier are sitting comfy in 5th place currently, as a SA side in France they're a very big side lacking some guile but with a whole heap of muscle. Their scrum and lineout are strong and if they do get on top in the forwards as the scores show they can score tries and kick (a lot) of penalties.

TEAMS:

Harlequins

15 Mike Brown, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Matt Hopper, 12 Harry Sloan, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care (c), 8 Nick Easter, 7 Luke Wallace, 6 Jack Clifford, 5 Sam Twomey, 4 Charlie Matthews, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Dave Ward, 1 Joe Marler.

Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Chris Robshaw, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Ben Botica, 23 Ollie Lindsay-Hague

Montpellier

15 Jesse Mogg, 14 Benjamin Fall, 13 Timoci Nagusa, 12 Anthony Tuitavke, 11 Marvin O’Connor, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Benoit Paillaugue, 8 Akapusi Qera, 7 Wiaan Liebenberg, 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo (c), 5 Paul Willemse, 4 Robins Tchale Watchou, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Craig Burden, 1 Mikheil Nariashvili.

Replacements: 16 Mickael Ivaldi, 17 Pat Cilliers, 18 CJ Van Der Linde, 19 Sitaleki Timani, 20 Kelian Galletier, 21 Ben Lucas, 22 Robert Ebersohn, 23 Julien Malzieu

Thanks for doing the thread, Yappy.

This should be a high quality game. All of Pelly's losses (apart from their tonking against Toulon which as you say was a 2nd team) have been close and most of their wins have been very high scoring.

They'll be a completely different side if their World Cup stars are back - Bismarck and Jannie du Plessis, Ouedraogo, Qera and I suppose that Ben Mowen will be fit? The key thing will also be whether they go with Trinh-Duc or Catrakilis. The first is flakier than a stale croissant, the second is a much better all rounder but much less exciting.

Yea with all the RWC players in that dude they look formidable. Who's their coach now? Is it still Jake White?

Quins will be hoping that they focus on the league or we could get s bit of a battering.

Don't suppose you could get some pics in the OP please GC??

yappysnap wrote:Don't suppose you could get some pics in the OP please GC??

Whom would you like as Quins rep? South West London girl? Keira Knightly is from Teddington. I'm just saying...

In terms of the Pelly rep, European matches are usually just an excuse for us to get someone (a) very attractive and (b) French - regardless of whether they have anything to do with the city at all. So feel free to nominate with as much creative licence as you like.

Never really seen the appeal in Keira Knightly tbh. Rachel Weisz on the other hand is a lady who's very easy to look at, and she's from Westminster which is close enough...

Also have a look for Severine Ferrer for Montpellier

Done.

Official preview:

9 Nov 2015, 12:15 pm
PREVIEW: Quins and Montpellier break new ground

Harlequins and Montpellier began the season in terrific form but will arrive in West London on the back of contrasting recent results. ?

The 2015/16 European club rugby season kicks-off at the Twickenham Stoop between two of the teams to make the brightest start to the season.

Three-time Challenge Cup winners Quins are third in the Aviva Premiership after winning three of their opening four games.

And the most recent win, 16-14 against Sale Sharks, saw new signing Tim Visser claim his first try since joining from Edinburgh in the summer.

Visser was a prolific scorer in his time at Edinburgh, helping them to the final of this tournament in May.

Director of rugby Conor O'Shea said: "We have started the season well but there is a lot to improve upon from our last performance.

"I don't focus on winning and losing and I never have, I care about the way you play and the energy you bring. We want to show people what we're about and we've played well over the last few weeks."

World Cup-winning coach Jake White kicks-off his first European campaign in charge of Montpellier having taken over mid-way through last season.

Montpellier soared to second place in the Top 14 with five wins from their opening six games, including victory over leaders Clermont-Auvergne.

However they crashed to a second defeat in a row last weekend, a humbling 52-8 loss at reigning European Rugby Champions Cup holders Toulon.

That sparked criticism of director of rugby White's team selection, after fielding an inexperienced team. And they have won just three of their last 12 ties in European competitions.

It may just be my natural pessimism bit I'm beginning to get very worried about this game...

yappysnap wrote:It may just be my natural pessimism bit I'm beginning to get very worried about this game...

Glasgow kicked their arse home and away last year Yappy, so have courage.

It largely hinges on if their new WC signings are there yet and playing!
Mind you they could also be rusty if they havent played as a unit before.

to be fair to Jake White, he said that he'd like his team to do well in the "small" european cup (which is not somethign you often hear in the T14!) and wants to qualify for the play-offs and why not the final who is in Lyon this year.

Harlequins Team
15. Mike Brown
14. Marland Yarde
13. Matt Hopper
12. Harry Sloan
11. Tim Visser
10. Nick Evans
9. Danny Care©

1. Joe Marler
2. Dave Ward
3. Adam Jones
4. Charlie Matthews
5. Sam Twomey
6. Jack Clifford
7. Luke Wallace
8. Nick Easter

16. Rob Buchanan
17. Mark Lambert
18. Kyle Sinckler
19. Kieran Treadwell
20. Chris Robshaw
21. Karl Dickson
22. Ben Botica
23. Ollie Lindsay-Hague

Wish we'd picked a weaker side

Very interesting team that. Few question marks for me:

1. Robshaw not starting, many ways you can take that, I wonder if it is just rotation, or something else.

2. Buchanan on the bench is a good call

3. No Lowe, a reason for concern? Hopper can be very good, but he can also have shovel hands.

Can't copy it but Montpellier team looks strong too

Pelly here:


Holy merde. I didn't realise that they've bought Jesse Mogg. He had a great Super Rugby season last year.

Lowe was planned to get rest this season. He's had some injuries in the last few season, don't want to break him

We will rotate our backrow as I've said elsewhere. Alternate weeks of R,W; C, R; C, W

At least the SA internationals havent been included - still looks like a very strong Montpellier side though!
No James Horwell either - is that injury?

Horwill is apparently injured.

Yes Mogg is a worrying prospect at 15 GC.

I'm going for a close Quins win, but could easily be wrong!!!!!!

The Montpellier scrum is pretty decent!

Utterly speechless at the tries given to Quins.

Chunky Norwich wrote:Utterly speechless at the tries given to Quins.

How come? They seemed fairly legitimate to me.

Cumbrian wrote:

Chunky Norwich wrote:Utterly speechless at the tries given to Quins.

How come?  They seemed fairly legitimate to me.

I didn't see any grounding of the ball in either try. Unless I missed replays of both that confirmed them, which is possible.

Great try to contrast the ones coed by the forwards earlier, huge difference in Quins once they settled.

Yappy I told you we'd smash them

ChequeredJersey wrote:Yappy I told you we'd smash them

I am ecstatic to be proved wrong!!

What an incredible try that was from Yarde, Care, Brown and finished by OLH was exceptional.

That kind of loss couldn't come at a worse time for White!

Or at a better time...

It was down to the wording of the Referee to the TMO? He was asking is there any reason I cant award the try - Not is it a try yes or no?

When the referee asks the former question its suggesting to the TMO that the referee is leaning towards it actually being a try.

I must admit that I was surprised by the final result - I thought it would be a lot tighter, but like so many French teams if it doesnt go their way then they stop playing (unusual as there arent that many French players in that matchday squad - think the commentators said there were 6)

Off the back of that performance would you want Jake White having the England Job? A bit harsh I know as he's just taken over the montpellier role.

Re Jake White, didn't want him before, and don't want him after having seen that. Seems he's turned Montpellier, one of the more attractive sides to watch in the Top 14, into a pragmatic, boring, forward orientated bosh side. It may be harsh to call it after one game, so I shall watch a few more Montpellier matches, as it may have been a response to conditions.

However, White also won the WC with SA with a similarly pragmatic style, and the last WC seems to suggest that the game (in Scotland and the SH at least) has very much moved on, which of course makes England's reverting to such a style from a more open approach in the 6N such a bitter disappointment.

Back to the game, congrats on Quins on a fine win. Not everything functioned smoothly, they lost a few line-outs, and the scrum was wonky (scrums have become incredibly boring at times, penalty after penalty, I think we had one scrum completed all game yesterday?), but their driving maul was superb, and some lovely tries when the game opened up, Linsay-Hague's was a classic!

No I would not.

Did any watch the Sky Special on Stu Lancaster before the game? Barnes as you'd expect came out of it looking a numpty, but I was surprised by how informative and on the level Ryan was, came out of it well.

Yea scrum and line out a concern. What to do about Dave Ward eh?

1 game too early for Horwell I heard - should be back for next weeks fixture

yappysnap wrote:Yea scrum and line out a concern. What to do about Dave Ward eh?

Given that Robshaw and Wallace limped off, play him at 7?

Backrow of Clifford, Ward, Easter, Baby chis on bench is bold but could be effective

Could work CJ. Loosing a lineout option though but its not as if we are functioning well there anyway!

Could make a pretty decent 7 tbh, his pace and breakdown work is exceptional. May not have the stature of a traditional backrow but he's quick and has great upper body strength over the ball.

Just checked...he's 2 inches taller than Steffon 'JC' Armitage. Food for thought....

Just watched highlights...very brief but it does look encouraging. That OLH try has got to be on try of the season shortlist..magnificent.

mid_gen wrote:Could make a pretty decent 7 tbh, his pace and breakdown work is exceptional. May not have the stature of a traditional backrow but he's quick and has great upper body strength over the ball.

Just checked...he's 2 inches taller than Steffon 'JC' Armitage.

Just watched highlights...very brief but it does look encouraging. That OLH try has got to be on try of the season shortlist..magnificent.

Ward is a relatively recent convert to hooking and his original position was 7, so it's a realistic option. IIRC, he's played at 7 for us in a couple of LV= games.

And yes, that try was in every way a thing of beauty - a great hit from Robshaw (who looked to have found purpose in life again), good reactions from Lambert and Sinckler to keep it all alive, vision from Yarde and Care to open the defence and then a smart pass from Brown to give OLH the chance to finish. If it's not in the running come try of the tournament time, we'll have had a very good tournament.

Ward became a hooker at about 18 for Bath, he wasn't reliable at throwing then and frankly still isn't!

Bathman_in_London wrote:Ward became a hooker at about 18 for Bath, he wasn't reliable at throwing then and frankly still isn't!

Yes it's a real shame as the rest of his game is brilliant, especially at the breakdown and carrying the ball at a gap rather then into a tackle.

He just misses so many important throws, and they're always the important ones.

Poorfour wrote:
a great hit from Robshaw (who looked to have found purpose in life again).

I was so pleased to see Robshaw looking like he enjoyed his rugby for the first time in about 10 weeks. Even happier when he scored that try, no one has deserved to be on the end of a simple run in more then him!

Hopefully over the next month or so the rotation will keep working and he can make his cameos in many more games without too much pressure on him.

yappysnap wrote:

Poorfour wrote:
a great hit from Robshaw (who looked to have found purpose in life again).

I was so pleased to see Robshaw looking like he enjoyed his rugby for the first time in about 10 weeks. Even happier when he scored that try, no one has deserved to be on the end of a simple run in more then him!

Hopefully over the next month or so the rotation will keep working and he can make his cameos in many more games without too much pressure on him.

Quite. My main hope for him is for RWC15 not to define him as a player. He is better than that and I hope has so mich more to give and get from the game.

Should be a good game against Cardiff - they scored a lot of points in their Itallian match and appear to have turned around some poor D12 form. I would imagine the Quins side will stay the same, perhaps with Horwell coming back in - although the youngsters did very well in the engine room. Charlie Matthews won MoM but I would have thought perhaps Easter might have been awarded it in my mind.

Yea I think Horwill will come in and Robshaw will probably start too.

Easter or Care for MoM for me but it doesn't really matter

Reading on CAW that apparently we'll play a slightly weaker side for Cardiff, partly because of the surface and partly ready for Exeter the week after.

'Quins fans - how has Visser been so far? I'm going to take a guess at stong in attack but a big jessie in defence...

He's attacked pretty well, needs to come off his wing looking for work a lot more often.

He has also let in a try in two games so far as well.

yappysnap wrote:He's attacked pretty well, needs to come off his wing looking for work a lot more often.

He has also let in a try in two games so far as well.

This could be Visser's end of year report card for the last couple of years. Before that his try scoring record papered over his deficiencies

You could say the same about Wade and Wasps!