Jeremy Guscott: Quins must answer questions on squad depth and mentality

Qualification for the Aviva Premiership play-offs is pretty much all over bar the shouting. Sarries and Tigers will finish one and two with Quins and Saints in a scrap for third and fourth. The home teams will have the advantage but that won’t stop Quins and Saints believing that they will win.
Harlequins have had a heavy season, and do not seem to be the free flowing maestros of a year ago. I was surprised at how easily Munster took them at the Stoop in the Heineken Cup quarter-final, and being dominated in that fashion has got to be hard to stomach.
Yet, Chris Robshaw, Joe Marler, Nick Easter, Nick Evans, Mike Brown and Co couldn’t find the nous or spirit to rise above the emotional togetherness whipped up by Munster. They are not the first to suffer defeat by Munster in that fashion, but they knew what was coming, and even so couldn’t counter it even with their international talent.
I doubt whether Harlequins can stay in the right place, mentally, to pull off what will be a surprise appearance in the final by beating either Saracens or Leicester away from home. The talent is there. However, another long season has taken its toll, and Quins are in a place they’re not used to.
We should remember that it is not so long ago, in seasons 2009-10 and 2010-11, that the club finished seventh and eighth respectively in the league. From, pretty much, obscurity to constantly being in the top four takes some getting used to – and, if you also take into account the Heineken Cup, then you’ve got to have a championship squad, not just a team.
If this Harlequins team can find the form of last season then unquestionably they can still win the title, but it’s a big if.
Northampton have a different problem altogether. How can they move past the semi-final stage and get to a final and win it? This season already has a familiar ring to it. Now, the Saints really do have a set of forwards capable of winning against anybody, but you wouldn’t have believed that if you watched their game against Tigers a few weeks back.
They got absolutely thumped. Saints are too reliant on Soane Tonga’uiha and Brian Mujati dominating, and it seems that if they cannot get the upper hand against opponents then the whole team drop their heads and think it’s mission impossible. Their main drawback is that they haven’t found a good enough fly-half to lead the team, and I would go after Gavin Henson. No.10 is their missing link.
Leicester are in the play-offs again, and that is no surprise. So, what is it they do so differently to their Northampton neighbours given similar resources?
The Tigers team isn’t overflowing with superstars who have egos bigger than the club. It’s an area they are very good at, bringing players in that know the real meaning of ‘hard work brings success’.
Richard Cockerill is a developing young coach who has done pretty much everything other than win a mine of silverware. Their DNA is a no-nonsense work ethic that from the outside appears to be old-fashioned, and maybe there’s an emphasis on peer pressure – but it works for them. Tigers are able to get the maximum out of their players week-in week-out, which I believe only Saracens have matched.
Sarries, like them or loathe them, have found the formula that works for them. It doesn’t always involve fancy champagne rugby, but, like Tigers, it produces winning results.
They have lost only three games in the league this year, and, as expected, currently have the best defensive record. I would love Saracens to break their game up a bit and really test themselves – but why should they? It’s a results-driven business, and they’re getting the results.
Winning brings the crowds and the sponsors through the gates, and that’s what it’s all about. Competing in both the Heineken and Aviva latter stages doesn’t seem to have taken it’s toll, and last weekend they could leave out Owen Farrell and Will Fraser, with Mako Vunipola and Alex Goode on the bench. That’s some squad they’ve assembled.
However, I wonder if Sarries end up winning nothing whether they might just change their style. They do have the ability to score with David Strettle, Chris Ashton and Joel Tomkins, while the likes of Matt Stevens, Jackson Wray and Fraser are capable of expanding the tactics should they decide that’s the next step. Against weaker teams they let it flow and finish teams off with tries, but generally against better opposition they get the lead and defend by playing territory.
As the league stands Sarries have to be favourites – and only a red hot Quins or Tigers can beat them.