Harlequins v Edinburgh Rugby, 14 January

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Harlequins v Edinburgh Rugby
Inconsequential Cup
Saturday 14 January 2017
KO 15:00
The Stoop, Twickers tallyho whatwhat

Not on poor people's television

Referee David Wilkinson (Ireland)
Touch Judge 1 Eddie Hogan-O'Connell (Ireland)
Touch Judge 2 Oisin Quinn (Ireland)
Citing Commissioner Yves Thieffine (France)

A. Head to Head

1 Played 1
0 Wins 1
1 Losses 0
0 Draws 0
35 Points 36

B. Recent European Form

Harlequins

17/12/16 - Quins 75 - 3 Timisoara

10/12/16 - Timisoara 3 - 42 Quins

22/10/16 - Edinburgh 36 - 35 Quins

Edinburgh

15/12/16 - SF Paris 26 - 20 Edinburgh

10/12/16 - Edinburgh 28 - 23 SF Paris

22/10/16 - Edinburgh 36 - 35 Quins

C. Teams

Harlequins

Brown; Yarde, Alofa, Marchant, Walker; Swiel, Care (capt); Murphy, Buchanan, Sinckler, Merrick, Matthews, Chisholm, Ward, Clifford.

Replacements: Gray, Jones, Shields, Luamanu, Wallace, Dickson, Jackson, Hopper.

Edinburgh Rugby


Kinghorn, Hoyland, Dean, Burleigh, Brown, Weir, Kennedy, Dell, Ford, Nel, McKenzie, Toolis, Bradbury, Watson, du Preez.

Replacements: Cochrane, Cosgrove, Berghan, Carmichael, Mata, Hidalgo-Clyne, Tovey, Allen.

cakeordeath wrote:Denying Quins an LBP as well. Edinburgh certainly have the easiest final game, they must finish top now

Did I speak too soon.

I think Quins will have to beat Stade away from home now (assuming they win in Romania)

RDW_Scotland wrote:I think Quins will have to beat Stade away from home now (assuming they win in Romania)

Wait I thought there was only one game left

Ah FFS

Quins sneak another try for a losing bp.

Still, great win Edinburgh!

Good win for Edinburgh, got a bit close for comfort at the end.

I think Quins scored with the last play - they were just pushing for an LBP

We let them score 2 tries in the last 2 minutes?! Still, a great result for us. Baffling how we are so inconsistent at the moment

By my reckoning Edinburgh move to the top with only Timisoara left to play

It think they did get a bonus point. For reasons best known to themselves, Edinburgh let them score two tries in last 5 mins.

Still a great win for the Edinburgh boys, not one that would have been predicted. As ever Edinburgh confound recent form and pull out a performance. They will top the group now and will probably get Hodge the job full time. Not convinced that is a good thing.

Hi I have just come across this Forum, could Mr carlin explain why he calls the challenge cup inconsequential? If he is trying to pour scorn on it - fair enough but could he explain why? I see he moderates the site. I just booked four tickets for the next Edinburgh home game in the Challenge Cup, it cost £80 - Clearly I have put my money where my mouth is. How would Mr Carlin Change the Challenge cup format to make it consequential? What rugby competitions does he consider to have consequence? Or should I not take everything he says at face value? was it all tongue in cheek? I am a firm believer in there is no smoke without fire! Please moderate me!

Welcome to the forum Flowers

A lot that is said on here is tongue in check and most posters (unlike most other rugby forums, particularly those that focus on one club) don't take themselves to seriously.

There is also a lot of banter between the Edinburgh and Glasgow fans in the Scottish threads and a lot of what is said relates to that.

Edinburgh did well yesterday and pretty much all Scottish fans, including the Glasgow ones like myself, where pleased about that. The Challenge cup is not inconsequential, but given the choice, all clubs would rather be in the champions cup, as are Glasgow. We don't mind reminding Edinburgh fans about that!

Glad you are supporting your team though, Scottish rugby can only improve with a strong Edinburgh side.

Ah you don't want to worry about anything that Mr Carlin says, he's very very old and his allegiances between Glasgow and Edinburgh change more often than the weather on an average Scottish day

BigGee wrote:
There is also a lot of banter between the Edinburgh and Glasgow fans in the Scottish threads and a lot of what is said relates to that.

And also it's true

I do not mind banter, but calling what I think, is an important competition inconsequential just for the sake of it is not banter, it is not even funny. The implication seems to be that he supports Glasgow and therefore a competition that Edinburgh is involved in is inconsequential. I hope everyone North of the Border is beyond such petty rivalries - or should be. I hardly think he is fulfilling his role as a "Moderator".

Age is irrelevant, in fact I am very very old [56] - why do you think it is a let out clause for inappropriate behaviour? It seems to me name calling. Or perhaps I am being tongue in cheek?

Welcome to the forum flowers - good to have more Edinburgh fans on here! A few things:

- moderators and admins (the people that run the site) are normal posters who 'volunteer' to help look after the place. As such we should be treated as posters first, the fuzz 2nd (we write in red when we're moderating).

- I'm also fairly certain GC's tongue was firmly in his cheek. You should see what we say about Glaswegians! They slag us for being in the 'diddy' cup, we slag them for their avoidance of soap etc...

As for GC's comment,  it is probably fair to say it is viewed as being  a much inferior tournament. Historically most French and some English teams see it as a major inconvenience and as such put little effort into it. This also isn't helped by the fact that, unfathomably , the winner doesn't qualify for the champions cup anymore.

Saying that, in my mind the whole point of playing rugby is to win things. Would a professional player look back fondl having qualified for the top 6 every year yet not actually won anything in his career?

Edinburgh will never win the champions cup in my lifetime I'm fairly sure, and are very unlikely to win the Pro 12 any time soon - yet I think there is a fair chance we can win this and finally get a feel-good factor about the team!

I think we should put all our effort into it, albeit not to the extreme that we give up on the league like our run to the final a few years ago. A cup run will help the Myreside move a great deal and should help pull in the punters.

Top 6 is going to be very unlikely for us this year - unless we win the vast majority of our remaining games - but we desperately need consistency in our performances. Plus there is no way we should be finishing below the Dragons given out much superior budget.

So I'm basically trying to say that it is merely telling the truth that this cup doesn't have the prestige of the main, but it would still be a great achievement for Edinburgh to win it and it is a possibility - especially with a Murrayfield final!

Well done Edinburgh. A well deserved win and it shouldn't have been that close at the end.

As for Quins....apart from the final 2 minutes that was dreadful! Many fans wouldn't have seen the LBP score as they left the stands 15mins earlier.
I heard Quins supporters booing their own team and even more grumbling about the coaching set up.
Supporters would have been more understanding if they had packed the side full of academy kids, but these were senior squad players who didn't even wake up!

propdavid_london wrote:Well done Edinburgh.  A well deserved win and it shouldn't have been that close at the end.  

As for Quins....apart from the final 2 minutes that was dreadful! Many fans wouldn't have seen the LBP score as they left the stands 15mins earlier.  
I heard Quins supporters booing their own team and even more grumbling about the coaching set up.
Supporters would have been more understanding if they had packed the side full of academy kids, but these were senior squad players who didn't even wake up!

Which of the Edinburgh players stood out for you? If you know who any of them are...!

Do you think you'll send a full strength team away to Stade next weekend?

Most of the back row were a nuisance at the breakdown. Nel had a couple of good scrums before going off injured.
The biggest cheer from the home crowd was when Adam Jones came on - and you know they have given up when AJ is one of 3 players doing the kick chases and the rest of them walking around!

I have no idea anymore! Kingston says that Quins values this competition - then you see a performance like that and you think (none of the players want to be there). Maybe they were being a bit precious and just didn't want to be there in the cold.
In the past they probably would have sent a strong team to Stade (not sure now) but Horwell should be back for selection.

Danny Care had a day to forget, in fact most of the team did.

Brown showed heart. And off the bench Adam Jones, Matt Loumanu and Hopper made an impact.

Nel went off injured!!? I really hope it's nothing nasty.

funnyExiledScot wrote:Nel went off injured!!? I really hope it's nothing nasty.

head knock after 25 minutes or so - apparently he looked clearly concussed.

He was doing well up until then by all accounts.

Looked pretty serious - was in a lot of pain it seemed

RDW_Scotland wrote:

funnyExiledScot wrote:Nel went off injured!!? I really hope it's nothing nasty.

head knock after 25 minutes or so - apparently he looked clearly concussed.

He was doing well up until then by all accounts.

Massive blow for Edinburgh and Scotland in which case. He's the cornerstone of both sides.

Looks like Jon Welsh may well have a big role for Scotland in the 6 Nations, plus a huge opportunity for young Fagerson.

Nothing on the Edinburgh website about Nel's injury, which I am assuming is not a good sign.

George Carlin wrote:Nothing on the Edinburgh website about Nel's injury, which I am assuming is not a good sign.

Not even a video of Duncan Hodge crying into his porridge?

Nel is almost certainly going to have to sit next week out. The only issue is going to be his match fitness though as Edinburgh are not going to need him to put the Romanians away.

The start of the internationals is two weeks after that and it is more than likely that he will be back and firing for that. Edinburgh had him down as fit enough to start on Saturday, so he clearly has not lost his basic fitness.

No need to panic just yet and as has been said on the other thread, we do have some back up options now. I won't be the end of the world if he starts on the bench or only plays a half.

As you say, Berghan and McConnell really ought to be enough for the Romanian Sarries. I just hope he's fully fit and ready for the 6 Nations. Not just for Scotland but for himself, as his Lions hopes will hinge on a strong 6 Nations.

funnyExiledScot wrote:As you say, Berghan and McConnell really ought to be enough for the Romanian Sarries. I just hope he's fully fit and ready for the 6 Nations. Not just for Scotland but for himself, as his Lions hopes will hinge on a strong 6 Nations.

That'll be McCallum then?

RDW_Scotland wrote:

funnyExiledScot wrote:As you say, Berghan and McConnell really ought to be enough for the Romanian Sarries. I just hope he's fully fit and ready for the 6 Nations. Not just for Scotland but for himself, as his Lions hopes will hinge on a strong 6 Nations.

That'll be McCallum then?

Who are you? Where am I?

Yep - that's the one!

funnyExiledScot wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:

funnyExiledScot wrote:As you say, Berghan and McConnell really ought to be enough for the Romanian Sarries. I just hope he's fully fit and ready for the 6 Nations. Not just for Scotland but for himself, as his Lions hopes will hinge on a strong 6 Nations.

That'll be McCallum then?

Who are you? Where am I?

Yep - that's the one!

Scrum half at Glasgow to TH at Edinburgh.

I know some Edinburgh players have been known for their fondness for the pies, but that really would be taking it to ridiculous levels!

BigGee wrote:

funnyExiledScot wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:

funnyExiledScot wrote:As you say, Berghan and McConnell really ought to be enough for the Romanian Sarries. I just hope he's fully fit and ready for the 6 Nations. Not just for Scotland but for himself, as his Lions hopes will hinge on a strong 6 Nations.

That'll be McCallum then?

Who are you? Where am I?

Yep - that's the one!

Scrum half at Glasgow to TH at Edinburgh.

I know some Edinburgh players have been known for their fondness for the pies, but that really would be taking it to ridiculous levels!

Pretty sure Ben Atiga launched a Christmas DVD that will get you there....

funnyExiledScot wrote:

BigGee wrote:

funnyExiledScot wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:

funnyExiledScot wrote:As you say, Berghan and McConnell really ought to be enough for the Romanian Sarries. I just hope he's fully fit and ready for the 6 Nations. Not just for Scotland but for himself, as his Lions hopes will hinge on a strong 6 Nations.

That'll be McCallum then?

Who are you? Where am I?

Yep - that's the one!

Scrum half at Glasgow to TH at Edinburgh.

I know some Edinburgh players have been known for their fondness for the pies, but that really would be taking it to ridiculous levels!

Pretty sure Ben Atiga launched on a Christmas DVD that will get you therebecause he missed his mid-morning snack....

Fixed that for you.

Postive signs or a PR puff piece and a last plea to Nel to stay?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/38641082

Edinburgh are in "deep conversation" with WP Nel in the hope of retaining the Scotland prop beyond this season.

The South African-born tight-head, 30, is reportedly a target for French giants Toulon and Clermont Auvergne.

"WP is a big family man and his family are settled here in Edinburgh," said managing director Jonny Petrie.

"We've had some positive conversations, those continue just now and we'd be looking to bring that to a resolution over the next wee while."

Nel joined Edinburgh in 2012 and has won 15 caps since qualifying through residency to play for Scotland in 2015.

He was sidelined for three months with a neck injury before making his return in Saturday's victory at Harlequins in the European Challenge Cup.

"WP is a world-class tight-head prop so I don't doubt there's interest from other clubs," Petrie told BBC Scotland.

"We're deep in conversation about looking to try and keep him at the club, as we are with our other big players as well."

Flanker Hamish Watson signed a new two-year deal last week, but fellow Scotland internationals Grant Gilchrist, John Hardie and Rory Sutherland are among those whose contracts expire at the end of the season.

"The French clubs do have money and we find it increasingly tough to operate in a spiralling market with the English and the French clubs," Petrie acknowledged.

"But what it does force you to do is be smart in the way you approach these things and we work very hard to keep the players we want to keep and to bring players in we want."

Decision on head coach 'by end of season'

Duncan Hodge talks to his assistant coach Stevie Scott (left)
Hodge has led Edinburgh to some impressive European wins, but they remain 10th in the Pro12
Uncertainty over who will be Edinburgh's head coach next season remains, but Petrie says he expects to resolve the situation before the end of this season.

Duncan Hodge was named interim head coach in September after taking over from Alan Solomons, and is in the running to take the job on a permanent basis.

The former Scotland fly-half has won seven and lost six of his 13 games in charge, with a European Challenge Cup quarter-final in sight if they beat Romanian minnows Timisoara Saracens on Friday, in their first game at Myreside.

"Duncan's had a really good start," Petrie said. "He is head coach just now and we're in the middle of those conversations with him at the moment.

"It's in his hands and he's doing a good job and we're talking to him about what the future will look like.

"I think he'd be the first to admit that there been some inconsistencies in our performance where you have back-to-back wins against Harlequins, and then we lose at home to the likes of Zebre.

"So we're trying to iron out those inconsistencies. But Duncan has done a really good job coming in and we're pleased with where he's going with that.

"Duncan is under contract to us this season and beyond and we're working with him to develop the squad for next year."

That talk from Petrie makes it look like Hodge is going to stay on...

Yeah, I read that into it too. If that's the case, I'm in two minds. On one hand, we've tried the 'big name', established coach - albeit the ageing Super 12 guy, Solly, and the likes of Bradley and Robinson. So perhaps it is time to promote from within and commit to a seemingly popular coach, who will grow with the likes of Watson, Kinghorn, Ritchie and Bradbury and could create a Weegie-esque culture? I'd be up for Hodge (or his bosses) bringing in some experience hands to help him, a Lineen or a Lancaster. On the other hand, can we expect to keep the Nels / Hardies and attract a Piutau if we have a learner driver at the wheel?

Highlights here

https://twitter.com/EdinburghRugby/status/821037968450207744

RDW_Scotland wrote:That talk from Petrie makes it look like Hodge is going to stay on...

Yeh, he's had a "really good start" and done a "really good job". Sounds like it's a done deal. Bad decision.

That's alright, Hodge's experience of the Diddy Cup will come in really handy next season. You would hate it if he had to navigate the uncharted waters of the big competition. Welcome to the board Flowers Of TheForest

the game is not on youtube that I can find - anyone know of anywhere there would be a vid?

RDW_Scotland wrote:Highlights here

https://twitter.com/EdinburghRugby/status/821037968450207744

There's only highlights here TJ

Some nice Edinburgh tries - the second was a cracker.

Chris Dean absolutely butchered a 3rd though after a great line break and our defence for their 2nd try was shocking!

Ta