Harlequins v Gloucester: Quins make one change ahead of Twickenham game
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 26: Alex Dombrandt and Marcus Smith of Harlequins celebrate during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Harlequins and Saracens at on January 26, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images for Harlequins)
Harlequins have made one change ahead of their fixture with Gloucester at Twickenham.
Sat third in the table, Harlequins look to guarantee their place in the semi-finals with a win over sixth-placed Gloucester on Saturday with two rounds left of the regular season.
The team head to Twickenham Stadium for the first-ever Big Summer Kick-Off event unbeaten in their last five appearances at the home of English rugby.
Commenting, Head Coach Tabai Matson said: “Heading into another big event at Twickenham Stadium, we couldn’t have asked for much better weather this week.
“We’ve had a couple of weeks without games that we’ve been able to treat as a sort of mini pre-season. You want to be peaking at this point in the season and that’s given us the chance to be as fit as we can be at this stage.
“This weekend is pretty much a quarter final for us against Gloucester. It’s an important game for both teams with regards to playoff rugby. Our performance on Saturday will be crucial.”
“I think our game against Gloucester earlier this season was probably one of our grittiest of the campaign. You have to be at your best when you play a team like that. They way they play, they are really pragmatic and have a fantastic scrum. Their maul is the best in the league. It will be more of the same on Saturday. It will be a contrast of styles and we’ll need to make sure we don’t let them into the game early and suffer the consequences.”
George Skivington has made four changes to his Gloucester side from their Challenge Cup quarter-final defeat to Saracens.
Giorgi Kveseladze, Santiago Socino, Kirill Gotovtsev and Ruan Ackermann all come into Gloucester’s starting line-up.
Skivington was full of praise of the Harlequins side, saying: “They’re a quality team. They’re the champions of England. They’ve got some quality players and they look like they enjoy what they do.
“There are threats across the board and I don’t see them as a team with a particular weakness. They seem to be very well connected and as I said, they look like they enjoy what they are doing which is really important when you’re doing this profession.
“I have a lot of respect for them and I’ve watched a lot of them so we know the challenges that are coming.
Looking ahead to the big day out at Twickenham, Skivington added: “We’re trying to stress ourselves in training as much as we can. It’s going to be a big day, a big event and it’s exciting.”
