Latest news with #Harlequins'
BBC News
28-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'We don't want to be like football, but...' - inside rugby's 'away end'
The referee initially allowing a Leicester try despite a clear knock-on in the build-up. Harlequins wing Cameron Anderson, concussed on the floor, being shown a red card. England team-mates Alex Dombrandt and Ollie Chessum squaring were plenty of flashpoints at Mattioli Woods Welford Road on the dedicated away fans section stubbornly refused to ignite into more than mild the fringes, where Richard Buck, sporting a Harlequins' striped blazer, and Phil Ellis, a slightly bewildered Leicester season ticket holder of 16 years, sat side by side, the only thing lobbed between the two were pleasantries and cheery small talk."I've been a bit ambused by this today," Ellis smiled. "You usually get the odd smattering of away fans but this is a bit more concentrated than normal.""They are all good lads though." 'Away ends arrive in rugby' shouted the headlines - including our's - last month when Premiership Rugby last announced two trial matches with specified areas for visiting is a story with couple of caveats they aren't really away ends. At least certainly not the aggro-and-pyro, strict segregation scenario the phrase brings to mind in this are not kept apart. And neither are they forced to sit with their own tribe. The option to mix in with the hosts is still there and taken by secondly, away ends haven't just arrived in rugby. Travelling fan groups have been block-booking sections of opposition stands off their own backs for - Harlequins' supporters association, external - are one of the most have concentrated more than a thousand fans together on European jaunts, where ticket offices are more accommodating and the idea of any travelling fans is members, given a dedicated area because of Covid restrictions of the time, helped inspire their team's semi-final comeback against Bristol at Ashton Gate in club's trip to Welford Road, which holds more than 25,000, was an obvious pick for the Premiership's trial. "It is a great initiative," said Leicester chief executive Andrea Pinchen, playing host."We want to be innovative, we want to try new things and it adds to the atmosphere with fans of both sides getting louder and louder,"Her Quins counterpart Laurie Dalrymple, who was previously managing director of Premier League football side Wolves, agrees."It isn't the catch-all that is going to fix all the challenges we have had in our sport over the past few years, but not necessarily about that," he said."It is about giving a slightly different fan experience for the diversifying audience that we need to reach and grow." There was certainly a diversity of opinions in the Buck or Ellis thought it was necessary."We all should mix," said Ellis. "I have been all over the country with Leicester and I don't want to particularly sit with Leicester fans, I just go and look for the best seat!"Elsewhere, there was support."If you are with people you know, who support the same team, you are going to be more confident," said Megan Schroeder."You are going to chant more, you are going to sing more, there is more hype and enjoyment."Whereas if you are just surrounded by opposition fans, it makes you think you might just sit and be quiet."There is a reason why football works so well. We don't want to be like football, but we still want an element of that competition. Definitely." "I am all for it," added Brandon Wells."It builds the atmosphere, and you are more inclined to travel if you are sat with people you know and you can sing the same songs."I am worried our game is going to die. We need to grow the game and this is a step in the right direction."Nick and Joel Baker, attending with their Leicester-supporting partners and sat among the Tigers fans, summed up the split."I am a bit more old school," said Nick. "I like mixing in together and having a laugh and a bit of fun. There is never any nastiness at rugby, it's not like football where you need the segregation. I am not a great fan of it, to be honest.""I think it is good to have the option," said Joel. "If you support a club and now live in a different part of the country, it is nice to sit in with your fellow fans. "I have lived in Leicester for five or six years and it is nice to hear some familiar accents when they come to town." As Leicester's lead stretched out in the second half, the volume dipped on the London voices lowing sound of 'C'mon you Quins' and more youthful chanting of star fly-half Marcus Smith's name become less frequent and more 500-odd strong, Harlequins fans were unlikely to break through often, even if the match had been more contrast, Gloucester's fans, congregated in the more sparsely-attended Stonex Stadium for last weekend's first trial match, made their presence felt and voices heard, external with some pithy chants about the deficiencies of London life and Saracens fly-half Fergus Burke made of it, other players have been supportive of the flanker Will Evans, who has spoken about the benefits of away support for visiting teams and the league as a whole,, external notably offered up applause to the Quins players also relish focused pockets of support when on the road, according to they will see more of it on next season's travels will depend on how Premiership Rugby, who will rebrand the competition for the next campaign, and its clubs' leaders, not all of whom have initially been keen, assess these two by Saturday though, any expansion won't be the radical change to matchday alchemy some traditionalists most feared.
Telegraph
04-04-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
The war hero inspiring Fin Baxter's meteoric rise
When profiling a player, you will ask a coach or family member at what point they realised the player was special and you are typically told a story about a length-of-the-field try or a match-saving tackle in the 80th minute of their school's cup final. At Harlequins, they tell a slightly different tale about prop Fin Baxter and a PowerPoint presentation. Before joining Harlequins as their head of performance support and player well-being, Andy Sanger served for 30 years in the British Army as a bomb-disposal expert, undertaking tours in Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland. When he arrived at the club, he soon realised there was a natural crossover between his two passions. And so Sanger proposed that in the week of Remembrance Day, an academy player would deliver a presentation on a former Harlequins war hero in front of the entire squad. 'I am the custodian of the culture within the club and part of that is how we develop our players and get them to understand the huge legacy that came before us and the heroic deeds of many former Harlequins players,' Sanger said. 'I am trying to get them to understand that the spotlight is on us at the moment but the sun will move on to a new crop eventually.' Then aged 20, Baxter gave his presentation on William Wavell Wakefield, who served as a pilot in both World Wars and was one of the first men to land a biplane on an aircraft carrier. He also captained England to three Grand Slams in the 1920s and is widely credited for reinventing the role of the back-row forward. Adam Jones, the scrum coach, was standing at the back of the room with Danny Wilson, then a consultant and now head coach, as Baxter started presenting. 'Danny was flabbergasted at how well this kid spoke so elegantly,' Jones said. Sanger added: 'To stand up at that young an age in front of your peers is intimidating, but Fin was so diligent in his research and was extremely articulate. I think that triggered in him the magnitude of the club and the people who have come before him. His diligence, his professionalism and how invested he was in it; that has translated directly into how he is conducting himself as a professional. He is a special player who will go on to do better things.' Jones already had his eyes on Baxter, now 23, for his physical attributes of 'having no neck and massive shoulders', but for a while he remained Harlequins' best-kept secret. Then came last season's Champions Cup quarter-final against Bordeaux. While Harlequins won a thrilling 83-point shoot-out, the victory lay squarely on the broad shoulders of Baxter and tighthead Will Collier. The image of the baby-faced Baxter chewing up the gargantuan Ben Tameifuna, who at various points has been listed as the heaviest player in the world, at the scrum was particularly striking. Suddenly the cat was out of the bag and Baxter ended up playing more than an hour in both of England's two Tests in New Zealand that summer. 'Everything seemed to happen really quickly,' Baxter said. 'At the start of the year, I was looking to have more starts than I did the previous season [for Harlequins], and getting more time out there, more exposure. Coming to the end of the season, it wasn't obvious the decisions around England selection were going to be made. I made a conscious effort and it has been very fast, but you need to learn as much as possible, learn as quickly as possible at every step. 'I am so lucky that I have Adam Jones who is a 99-cap international, multiple Lions tours, one of the best tightheads ever. Joe Marler again is a 90-cap individual, done Lions tours. To have had those two in the building and not ask them every question you've got it would be criminal. So having those two has been amazing.' It has not all been smooth sailing. Baxter's first five appearances with England finished in defeats while Harlequins' scrum creaked in the first half of the season – although, as Jones points out, in the last two seasons the likes of Collier, Wilco Louw and Marler, following his retirement, have left the building. Again Jones raves not about Baxter's scrummaging technique or his physical attributes but his personality, pointing out how in England's Six Nations victory against France, Baxter conceded a penalty after coming on as a replacement only to immediately win one back at the very next scrum. 'His biggest trait is that he is very level-headed, nothing really flusters him,' Jones said. 'When I look back to myself at his age, it is like chalk and cheese.' He is increasingly taking ownership of leading the scrum and having acted as an understudy to both Marler at club level and Ellis Genge with England, is finding his own voice. 'That's what's been interesting to see,' Baxter said. 'Obviously, they are two brilliant looseheads and two brilliant people. To see how they go about being themselves and playing their best rugby, what it has really showed me is that I don't need to be like Joe, I don't need to be like Ellis, but if I do what they're doing by being myself then I am going to play better. 'Joe's left a hole here for sure. He's a great character and a great man. I have felt more responsibility around the scrum in general. It's something that I'm very happy to take up and give my opinion more and stand up a bit more. I feel being a young player and an international player is a weird mix but I just don't think holding back on something is going to help the team.' Anyone who underestimates Baxter because of his cherubic features quickly learns the hard way that appearances can be deceptive. On Saturday, Baxter faces arguably the hardest assignment for any European loosehead prop against a likely combination of Tadhg Furlong and Rabah Slimani in Harlequins' foreboding Champions Cup last-16 trip to Croke Park to face Leinster. He shows no trepidation of the assignment. 'It is going to be so cool,' Baxter said. 'We got a bit of a history lesson from Gerard Mullen [Harlequins' skills coach] and I think we are only the third English team to play there so it is going to be a massive occasion, and then playing Furlong who's been at the top for so long now. It's going to be really cool.' Baxter is far more than just a scrummager. At Harlequins this season, he leads all players for total involvements which includes tackles, carries and rucks hit. Yet scrummaging is what he loves, as much for the psychological as the physical test. 'It's a horrible thing to do,' Baxter said. 'It's a just an absolute mess of pressure and force and to agree that we're staying in this together because we want to win this area of the game is really important. Once you've kind of got that advantage, like we did in Bordeaux, it is so powerful. Our set-piece really kept us in that game but days like that, it is very rare to have that kind of ascendancy. That's what you are always chasing.'
Telegraph
02-04-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Saracens disrespecting Champions Cup, says Harlequins' Danny Wilson
Danny Wilson, Harlequins' head coach, has taken aim at Saracens by claiming that his club would never disrespect the Investec Champions Cup by naming a second team in a knockout match. Saracens, who like Quins are chasing a place in the Gallagher Premiership play-offs, travel to Toulon in the last-16 on Saturday and Mark McCall, Saracens' director of rugby, has said that they would prioritise the league over Europe by resting Test stars. England players who featured in all five Six Nations matches – such as Saracens' Maro Itoje, Ben Earl and Tom Willis – are obliged to miss one of the first three matches after the championship. Itoje and Willis played against Harlequins and Leicester in the Premiership so will be forced to miss this weekend's trip to the Côte d'Azur. 'A lot of the English teams have done this, it's not just us,' McCall said, as he also opted to rest Earl, Elliot Daly and Jamie George this weekend, the latter two of whom also featured heavily for England in the Six Nations. Harlequins' England trio – Fin Baxter, Chandler Cunningham-South and Marcus Smith – are all available this weekend after being controversially rested for the first match back after the Six Nations, when the visitors defied the odds to defeat a fully-loaded Saracens at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. When asked about the approach of his fellow Londoners on Tuesday, Wilson said: 'I can't see us ever at Harlequins putting a second team out in a Champions Cup game. That's disrespecting what I think the competition is. It's an exciting competition that we want to be part of and [we] want to do ourselves justice. 'Having said that, we have to manage our squad, full stop, because the three games that we've had coming out of the break [were] Saracens away, Bath away, Leinster away — we haven't had a home game for three weeks and obviously [there was] a lot of travel, a lot of challenges, a lot of physical, confrontational games, which means you have to manage your squad.' Last year, Wilson selected both Danny Care and Joe Marler in three successive Premiership rounds despite the duo's Six Nations involvement and then opted to rest them for the Champions Cup quarter-final in Bordeaux – a match that Quins won 42-41. Harlequins' head coach says he has learnt a lot from how that period in the spring of 2024 was managed. 'Our approach was built on lessons learnt from last year,' Wilson said. 'We all know players come out of those international periods emotionally, physically, mentally pretty spent. There's a lot asked of them. But it's the emotional side of it that I've said a few times before is the one that drains and is probably less recognised. 'So we made a decision no matter who we were playing in that first game back, once they finished the Six Nations, [to say] go on your break, get away, recharge the batteries but recharge emotionally as much as anything. That also allowed us to work with a group of players for a period of time leading into Saracens, work on a game plan to play Saracens and prepare over a long period.' There is quite a bit to unpack here, but no matter which side of the fence one happens to fall, they are all ultimately in the same garden. The fundamental piece here is that the Champions Cup just does not have the prestige that it once did. Some 10 or 15 years ago, had McCall and Saracens – or anyone, for that matter – been in this position, no way would they have chosen to rest their stars for a European knockout match. Admittedly, player-welfare guidelines have progressed for the betterment of the sport in the intervening period, but be that as it may, had today's guidelines existed back then, no way would Saracens have rested their internationals for a trip to Toulon's galacticos. Back then, the competition was arguably the world's greatest featuring an oval ball. Now, that prestige and cachet is long gone. Were I in McCall's shoes – which all Saracens fans will no doubt be glad to hear I am not – I would have done the same. Saracens' spot in the Premiership play-offs is by no means assured and off the back of the Six Nations they hosted Quins in their showcase match in Tottenham followed by a tricky trip to Welford Road to take on Leicester, who were in third at the time. Perhaps, the original plan was to swat Harlequins aside and then rest players to face the Tigers but once that match at Tottenham slipped through their grasp, a loss at Leicester would have virtually ended their season. McCall had no choice. Maybe the way to avoid this in future is to have a top six play-off system as in France, but that robs Peter to pay Paul. In a league of just 10 teams, the Premiership would then be devalued as Europe's stock increases. Many things can be true at the same time. McCall's approach is understandable (yet regrettable) and Wilson is fair when he says that Saracens are disrespecting the competition. Ultimately, however, it is a competition which has brought disrespect on itself. The task for European rugby administrators is to help it recapture those salad days when such rotation would have been unthinkable.
Telegraph
10-03-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
James Haskell Q&A: ‘I would not have Jerusalem as England's anthem'
After every weekend of the 2025 Six Nations, James Haskell and Mike Tindall have been answering Telegraph readers' questions. With the championship in the balance going to into Super Saturday, James Haskell returns to answer your questions about Ellis Genge at hooker, imagining Finn Russell in an England shirt and whether Jerusalem should be England's anthem. You can leave questions for the hosts of The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast at any point in the final week of this year's championship. 'He drives Harlequins' attack' Peter Godwin asked: If the Marcus Smith fullback experiment is not to be abandoned, should the England management be able to require Harlequins to field him at fullback to maximise the prospects of the plan succeeding? I don't think you can ever ask a club to do that. It might be an idea but he is obviously still a very good No 10 and he drives Harlequins' attack. Ideally you want him to get more time at full-back but I'm not sure asking Harlequins is realistic. 'It is not rocket science' Bob Trouser: Have England finally got a decent 9 and 10 pairing? Firstly, what a negative spin on it. England have always had a number of good nine-ten combinations. They have played three consistent games together, they play at club level together, they have a rapport. It is not rocket science why it is working. Other guys - Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer - have been good. 'You need a battering ram' Simon Keegan: Are we really convinced about the centres? Personally I would love to see Freeman at 13 and a proper 12. Wonder if this is why our attack is misfiring? With Lawrence out, you could have Dingwall and Slade. You do need a bit of a battering ram in there. Slade and Freeman might be interesting. I'm not sure who the next cab of the rank would be. Oscar Beard is in the squad but Wales away would be a big ask. 'Ruthlessness is making the right decisions' Chine Meniek: If the World Cup was next week, can this squad bring it home? No, I don't think so. They are moving in the right direction, very competitive. They could one day build into that side but I don't see a consistent level of ruthlessness, particularly in that last 20 minutes. Ruthlessness is not just throwing the ball around, it is choosing when to offload, making the right decisions. You put people to the sword by getting that balance right. When you get your tails up, forcing things can become a bit of an issue. 'He has that stockiness' Chris Amstrong: I think Genge would make a brilliant hooker. Thoughts? (And does a hooker have to throw in to the lineout or could it be?) I could see why you might think that. I'm not sure he would want to be, but he could be if wanted to. I'm not sure what his throwing is like. But he has that build, that stockiness, to be a dynamic hooker.
