Mean machine Harley will not compare club clash with Calcutta Cup humbling

THE recent fateful, demoralising Calcutta Cup affair will bear little resemblance to this afternoon’s England versus Scotland European Champions Cup quarter-final between Saracens and Glasgow, according to one of Warriors’ key figures.

Flanker Rob Harley has been at the heart of the club’s rise in recent years and he is entrusted with keeping a lid on the likes of Maro Itoje and Mako and Billy Vunipola in a clash expected to be explosive from the first whistle. He did not play against England this year and, despite a total of 16 Calcutta Cup protagonists returning to the stage, does not expect this London affair to play out as the international did.

‘It’s different playing in this jersey,’ said Harley. ‘Maybe it’s different for others where there’s a bit more fuel when you’re facing players you’ve recently played against, and that might be useful as you get to know their position and their tendencies, and tactics you can use. But this is about what we can do as a Glasgow team.

‘Everyone is thinking about this game from a Glasgow perspective and repeating the processes we’ve used for the other European games.

‘We have had some good away wins this year like Racing and Leicester, and it’s about making sure we raise our intensity and put the plan into place.

‘When you analyse Saracens, you see that they are a very strong team and we know the challenge they pose. Although we will do a bit of work on them, we will be talking about what we can do well and how we can impose ourselves.’

Saracans are at full strength with a physical pack where Scotland cap Jim Hamilton and England star Itoje provide a great challenge for Jonny Gray and Brian Alainu-uese, with Tim Swinson suspended.

With Adam Ashe alongside Ryan Wilson and Harley, the Warriors are going for their biggest back row — minus the injured Josh Strauss — but while matching Saracens’ physicality in the set-piece and at the tackle is crucial, their game-plan will not revolve around the pack in the same way as the hosts.

That is not to say Saracens will ignore a back-line their fans believe to be better than England’s. Scotland wing Sean Maitland starts for the hosts on the opposite flank to try machine Chris Ashton, while Duncan Taylor is on the bench, and Maitland knows that a Lions spot could depend on whether he or Tommy Seymour shines greater today. Similarly, a fine display by Finn Russell, directly opposite Owen Farrell, could change Warren Gatland’s Calcutta Cup opinion. A similar thought may lurk in the back of Gray’s mind.

It will take a special performance by Glasgow to subdue Saracens for 80 minutes and precision attacking to turn

opportunities into points, but head coach Gregor Townsend and his assistants have proven themselves tactically astute and the players strong, skilled and courageous. And they travel with belief now born of experience.

Harley (right) said: ‘In terms of Europe, this is the first time we’ve reached the knockout stages, but as a squad we have had big occasions — finals and semi-finals. We have played and won big games in Europe for a couple of years now and so have that mindset that we can beat any team in Europe, if we go through the right processes and are accurate enough.

‘The games against Leicester and against Racing this season were about putting in good performances for the 80 minutes and that laid down a marker for how we can play. We’ve shown we can do it … and while we have won the Pro12 Final and that’s right up there, in terms of the new frontier for us, it’s all been about Europe and what we can achieve there.’

What happens next season after Townsend steps down and Dave Rennie takes over, beating the reigning European Champions away from home in the quarter-finals would be an epochal step for Glasgow and Scottish rugby.