Matthews raring to go with Quins
Charlie Matthews is hoping to make a giant impact on his return to The Stoop and help the club climb back to the top of the English tree.
The 6ft 8in lock recently returned to Harlequins to bolster the pack after leaving for a stint at Wasps in 2018 followed by a short stay with Kamaishi Seawaves in Japan.
Matthews is relishing linking up with the likes of Marcus Smith and Alex Dombrandt at a club which is certainly enjoying happier and more successful times on the field compared with when he left.
Back then, Quins were struggling at the wrong end of the table and very much in the doldrums having endured a dismal few years of decline in performance and results. Yet, now the Londoners are preparing to scrap it out at the top of the table again having fallen short of the challenge of retaining their title last season.
Tabai Matson's men, who lost out to Saracens in the play-off semi-finals, saw their crown snatched by Leicester Tigers last June. They kick off the new campaign with a long trip up to Newcastle Falcons before hosting big capital rivals Saracens, and Matthews wants to play a leading role in repeating their 2021 Premiership glory.
The 31-year-old former England junior and Saxons forward, who spent the first nine years of his playing career at the club, insisted: “I want to play as much as I can and I'm raring to go. I've come back here to try and help the side achieve more success, and I've sensed a real determination and desire to be the best within the squad.
“I'm looking forward to playing along side Alex Dombrandt. We've not crossed paths before as he came here just after I left. He's an incredible player who has been compared to Nick Easter but he is a different style of character to Nick. He reads the game and plays on instinct
“I'm excited to be back at the club where I spent the majority of my career. I went away to Japan for my sabbatical, got some experience of a different cult over there, fixed some old war wounds and now I'm ready to go again for Quins.
“There are still plenty of guys here from my first spell. Luke Wallace has come back like me. One of my best mates Will Collier is still around, Ross Chisholm too, who is of the same age group. Joe Gray is still knocking around in the back room, Jordan Turner-Hall and Nick Evans as well. It's nice to see some familiar faces.
“They won the Premiership and want to build on that, which shows there is a really good culture here and that there is a very tight group.”
