Harlequins Season Preview: Joe Launchbury sets stall on being hard to beat

 

Harlequins Season Preview

Coach: Danny Wilson

Captain: Alex Dombrandt

Supporters at The Stoop probably spend less time in their seats than those at the other grounds in the top flight.

Periods of inactivity in matches involving Quins are rare.

They tend to either be scoring or conceding: in five matches last season they scored more than 25 points and lost and in all competitions they won six times despite conceding 25 points or more.

They were involved in some epic encounters, not least their 42-41 victory at Bordeaux-Begles in the Champions Cup quarter-final, but ultimately their defence, which started to leak badly when the coach who had the brief, Jerry Flannery, left for South Africa during the Six Nations break, cost them.

They conceded 371 points in the nine matches they played after his departure, an average of 41 a time – more than double the average in the previous 10 games.

And Joe Launchbury expects teams to find Quins harder to break down after the arrival of new defence coach Jason Gilmore from Australia.

Launchbury on Defence

“Defence is the most obvious area we need to improve in, and it has probably been Quins’ downfall long before I came here,” said former England lock Launchbury, who joined last summer after a brief stint in Japan following the collapse of Wasps.

“When you are a side with a clear intent to attack as we are, it can be great in so many ways, but we also understand we are not going to win trophies by having that attitude of being so one-sided to our attack.

“We tried to correct it last season, but we realised it was not a particularly quick fix and probably needed a pre-season.

“We have had a change of personnel and it is down to us now. Do we become as excited defending as clearly this club does with attacking?”

New Defence

It is a question Northampton were asking this time last year.

Lee Radford arrived from rugby league and quickly injected an appetite for defending and Quins will be looking to Gilmore to have the same impact.

“He has come in with some fresh ideas and we have gone right back to the fundamentals of defending,” said Launchbury.

“It is something a number of the guys have not seen before and the change is something the club needed.

“It is up to us as players: I do not want to be associated with a team who are seen as soft and easy to score tries against.”

Quins faded after their victory in Bordeaux, losing four of their final fives matches as the season took its toll.

And the coaches have not gone overboard in pre-season training ahead of what they intend to be another long campaign.

Squad Movements

They have lost two international backs, wing Louis Lynagh and centre Andre Esterhuizen, but still boast the likes of Tyrone Green, Cadan Murley, Nick David, Oscar Beard, Luke Northmore and Marcus Smith behind the scrum.

They have also signed the Wales and Lions full-back Leigh Halfpenny.

Up front, tighthead Will Collier will be a loss and on the other side of the scrum Joe Marler will miss the opening month.

Wyn Jones and Titi Lamositele have added to the front row options while Fin Baxter capped his breakthrough season by making his England debut against New Zealand in the summer.

“We have to push for a trophy after letting ourselves down in the league last season,” said Green.

“Fatigue caught up with us but come the start of the season the boys will be raring to go.”

Tough Start

Quins have a testing start to the campaign.

Trips to Sale and champions Northampton come either side of a home clash with Newcastle. Then their nemesis, Saracens, arrive at The Stoop.

Quins have lost their last eight Premiership matches against Sarries, conceding a combined total of 90 points last season.

Their only victory in the fixture since December 2017 came three years later when their opponents had just had their relegation confirmed after salary cap breaches.

Their litmus test will come when they face Saracens on October 13.

They have lost 26 of their last 31 league meetings between the two London rivals and their defensive resolve will be rigorously tested in the opening four rounds.

Ins and Outs

IN: Titi Lamositele (Montpellier), Leigh Halfpenny (Harlequins), Wyn Jones (Scarlets), right, Rodrigo Isgro (Argentina Sevens)

OUT: Louis Lynagh (Benetton), Andre Esterhuizen (Sharks), left, Lovejoy Chawatama (Bristol Bears), Santiago Garcia Botta (retired), Will Collier (Castres), Makeen Alikhan, Theo Currie, Will Edwards, Max Green, Jonny Smith (all released), Matas Jurevicius (Ealing Trailfinders)