Conor O’Shea challenges Harlequins to become a great team

Good teams win titles, but great teams back it up time and again. That is the view of Harlequins‘ head honcho Conor O’Shea as his side prepare to kick-off their title defence against Wasps on Saturday.
The former Ireland full-back says last season counts for nothing now, and rather than waste a second basking in the glory of their Twickenham success, he is demanding his young Quins side cut out the mistakes and push on to the next level.
He told The Rugby Paper: “Hopefully being champions won’t change any of us. It’s irrelevant what we did last year. Good teams can win; great teams can back it up. This team is not driven to be average – they want to be outstanding.
“And it’s about backing that up year-in, year-out. They’re not young anymore – they’re all maturing into their best years and the next five years, if we can keep the bulk of our squad together, will be very exciting. We want to become a better side. There are so many improvements to make, especially in defence and discipline. We were first in tries conceded two years ago, but last year we were fourth so we have to up that.
“But we also need to be more clinical with ball in hand. We left a lot of tries on the field last season – something like fourth in the try-scoring stakes.
“It’s now about more young guys maturing and stepping up to the required level. We know how difficult it will be to defend out title but we’re very comfortable with the squad we have. They are all so competitive and desperate to succeed.”
Quins have added just two players – fly-half Ben Botica from North Harbour in New Zealand and Pirates hooker Dave Ward. But O’Shea argues that not even Chris Robshaw is guaranteed a place in his team.
“You don’t want huge changes once you have that winning mentality,” he said. “We have a group of players who have pretty much grown up together and with players like Luke Wallace, Karl Dickson, Ross Chisholm and Matt Hopper on the bench – I know they’ll step up when needed, if they haven’t taken the jerseys in the first place.”
And it is this competition, especially, in the back row which keeps Robshaw, 26, honest. Despite leading England on the summer tour to South Africa, he is working hard to prove he is the best flanker in the country.
Robshaw said: “It’s about the little percentages here and there. We are all pushing each other every day in training because we’re desperate to play at the weekend.
“It’s about being honest with yourself, knowing your weaknesses and improving them. The coaches see you every session and help as much as they can, but the drive has to come from yourself.”
O’Shea, right, adds: “The back row is incredibly competitive. It’s about players driving each other – it’s not just about Chris captaining England – he’s helped by being pushed by Luke Wallace and Will Skinner.
“We’ll continue to focus on getting the right mindset, getting our processes right, and the results will look after themselves. We won’t win every game – no team will have a start like we did last year when we won out first 11 games – and there’ll be disappointments.
“Two years ago we lost in the LV= Cup at home to Newcastle, last year away in Heineken Cup to Connacht. But those defeats define and help you because it gives you the hurt which drives you.”
And O’Shea hopes this season Nick Evans may even feel a bit of heat at No.10. Former England U20 fly-half Rory Clegg, and Botica, son of former All Black, Frano, may be just 22 but O’Shea wants them to fight for the jersey.
Asked if it is a question of managing the mercurial Evans, 32, O’Shea was adamant. “No, it’s about Cleggy pushing on. It’s about him and Botica pushing on and putting pressure on Nick for the jersey. Rory’s grown up a lot of the last number of months and he’ll be pushing hard. But it’s about who is the best man for the team and it’s up to them to show that.”
MATTHEW EMERY