Premiership preview (1 day to go): Harlequins, Leicester, Saracens

With the Aviva Premiership starting tomorrow, we take a look at what lays ahead for the last three of the 12 teams. Today, Harlequins, Leicester and Northampton
Harlequins
Chris Robshaw and company say they are looking to build a Leicester-like dynasty, but Harlequins will discover that being the champions – and therefore the team to beat – is a different proposition to trying to get your hands on the title for the first time. The counterpoint is that they look as well-equipped to stay at the top as any side in the league, and having broken their duck they have experience on their side despite still being a young outfit.
The revelation last season was that their front row of Joe Marler, Joe Gray and James Johnston, none of whom were seasoned campaigners, took it to the opposition, allowing the other units in the Quins line-up to function smoothly. At the same time George Robson has arrived as a mobile lock of character and influence, and with Charlie Matthews and the heavyweight Ollie Kohn there is plenty of drive in the engine room, giving a back row of Robshaw, the veteran Nick Easter, and the clattering Maurie Fa’asavalu a base to play off.
Behind the scrum Harlequins have an enviable blend of power, pace and play-making. The tactical direction comes mainly from Nick Evans, with the willowy Kiwi fly-half mixing his game astutely and also showing his mettle as a goal-kicker, and having a try poacher like Danny Care inside him is an ideal foil. Jordan Turner-Hall and George Lowe are direct and powerful in midfield, Mike Brown has the best counter-attacking instincts in the league, and in Sam Smith, Ugo Monye and Ross Chisholm there is plenty of gas.

Player to Watch – Nick Evans, fly-half
Although Rory Clegg is no slouch, Evans is in a different league to almost every other No.10 in the Premiership as a creator-finisher. Harlequins boss Conor O’Shea has done his best to ensure that there is strong cover in most positions, and with the likes of Luke Wallace understudying Robshaw and hooker Dave Ward arriving from the Cornish Pirates to keep Joe Gray and Chris Brooker honest, there is plenty of strength in depth – but Evans staying fit could be the difference between retaining the title or losing it.
SQUAD : Chris Brooker, Rob Buchanan, Joe Gray, Dave Ward, Will Collier, Tim Fairbrother,
James Johnston, Mark Lambert, Darryl Marfo, Joe Marler, Nic Mayhew, Peter Browne, Ollie Kohn, Charlie Matthews, George Robson, Maurie Fa’asavalu, Chris Robshaw, Will Skinner, Joe Trayfoot, Luke Wallace, Nick Easter, Tom Guest, Danny Care, Karl Dickson, Ben Botica, Rory Clegg, Nick Evans, Tom Casson, Matt Hopper, George Lowe, Jordan Turner-Hall, Ugo Monye, Sam Smith, Seb Stegmann, Tom Williams, Mike Brown, Ross Chisholm, Ollie Lindsay-Hague.
VERDICT: 2nd
Leicester
With Test players or former internationals in virtually every position, the Tigers are bound to be in the hunt again, but having lost the last two Premiership finals second will not be good enough this time, and nor will another failure to make the knock-out stage of the Heineken Cup. Richard Cockerill has had a recent vote of support from the club board, and, although he’s used to the pressure and handles it well, the endorsement will put him on his guard.
By now Cockerill is used to dealing with football-style expectations, and the upshot is that he will invariably have a moan at some stage about the number of injuries or inter- national calls that he has to put up with. However, he will never mention that there is no club better equipped to handle those bugbears than the Tigers because of the unrivalled size and strength of their squad. And when questions are asked how all those players fit into the salary cap of £4.2m the Leicester answer is always the same – players often take a pay cut to join the country’s most successful club.
This time Leicester have not cast their net as wide as usual in the transfer market, but have landed four quality backs in fly-half/centre Dan Bowden and wings Adam Thompstone, Miles Benjamin and Vereniki Goneva .
The last three are exciting replacements for Alesana Tuilagi and Horatio Agulla, while Bowden will provide cover at 10 if Toby Flood and George Ford are both with England. Irrespective of the calls, unlike last season, expect a strong start – as well as a strong finish.

Players to Watch – Toby Flood/ George Ford, fly-half
Flood is at a cross-roads and faces a test of ability, as well as character, if he is to keep the 10 jersey away from George Ford when it comes to selection at the Tigers – and England. The received wisdom is that keen competition among players is an essential ingredient of successful sides, but it is unlikely that Flood views the rise of his richly talented young rival as a bonus. Last season Flood suffered a dip in club form after losing his test place to Owen Farrell, and the trick will be to keep both players firing for the Tigers irrespective of their battle for England honours. Easier said than done.
SQUAD : George Chuter, Rob Hawkins, Jimmy Stevens, Tom Youngs, Marcos Ayerza, Kieran Brookes, Martin Castrogiovanni, Dan Cole, Boris Stankovich, Logovi’i Mulipola, Robert Andrew, Louis Deacon, Graham Kitchener, Steve Mafi, Geoff Parling, Ed Slater, Tom Croft, Brett Deacon, Craig Newby, Julian Salvi, Richard Thorpe, Ben Woods, Jordan Crane, Richard de Carpentier, Thomas, Sam Harrison, Patrick Phibbs, Micky Young, Ben Youngs, Daniel Bowden, Toby Flood, George Ford, Anthony Allen, Matt Cornwell, Andy Forsyth, Matt Smith, Manu Tuilagi, Mathew Tait, Miles Benjamin, Vereniki Goneva, Scott Hamilton, Adam Thompstone, Niall Morris, Geordan Murphy.
VERDICT: 1th
Saracens
Will the signings of England wing Chris Ashton and a couple of South African forwards in Alistair Hargreaves, a Sharks and three-time Springbok lock, and Nick Fenton-Wells, a Stormers flanker, help Saracens to regain the Premier- ship title they lost last season? It might – but you wouldn’t bet your house on it. Saracens, under the guidance of Mark McCall, will be as well-organised and difficult to beat as ever, and they have a squad strength to rival Leicester, but an emphasis on method first, and playing what they see in front of them second, could be a serious impediment to their ambitions.
The numbers in the Sarries squad, and the strict rotation policy which is only suspended when it comes to the acid tests towards the season end, also appears to rob players of momentum. A combination of these factors may explain why Saracens have yet to get further than a Heineken Cup 1/4 final despite finishing 2nd, 1st and 3rd in the Premiership over the past three years.
McCall faces a number of important selection decisions, notably at No.10 where Owen Farrell will want to supplant the veteran Charlie Hodgson, at tighthead between Carlos Nieto and Matt Stevens, and at openside where Andy Saull needs game time but Jaques Burger has been first choice. He also has to divine how to maximise on Alex Goode’s playmaking skills, and how to get Ashton pin-sharp while the rotation wheel keeps on turning. It’s a matrix which requires mathematical precision, and it has served Sarries well – but whether it is the stuff of which champion dynastys are made remains to be seen.

Player to Watch – Schalk Brits, hooker
Saracens have a tendency to do things by the book, but having a hooker like Schalk Brits as your main play-maker is as alternative as it gets. Perhaps it is simply that Brits is a unique talent, a front row forward with more pace, panache and footwork than most of the back three players in the Premiership. Having taken the game here by storm in his first two seasons, the South African was less explosive last time out, but when he is firing he takes Saracens into a different orbit.
SQUAD : Schalk Brits, Jamie George, John Smit, Petrus du Plessis, Rhys Gill, Carlos Nieto, Lorenzo Romano, Jared Saunders, Matt Stevens, Mako Vunipola, Steve Borthwick (c), Mouritz Botha, Alistair Hargreaves, George Kruis, Eoin Sheriff, Kelly Brown, Jacques Burger, Will Fraser, Justin Melck, Andy Saull, Nick Fenton-Wells, Ernst Joubert, Jackson Wray, Neil de Kock, Ben Spencer, Richard Wigglesworth, Owen Farrell, Charlie Hodgson, Brad Barritt, Nils Mordt, Rodd Penney, Adam Powell, Kameli Ratuvou, Joel Tomkins, Chris Ashton, Joe Maddock, James Short, David Strettle, Duncan Taylor, Alex Goode, Chris Wyles .
VERDICT: 3th