HARLEQUINS
There’s little change to the squad that followed their 2021 title with third place last season. And why would there be when you have so many components in place, from wily scrummager Joe Marler to England half-backs Danny Care and Marcus Smith to the bruising Andre Esterhuizen.
Esterhuizen, Tyrone Green and Cadan Murley were all in the top five metre-eaters last term while Quins losing a scrum feed is rarer than a winter swallow. Quins’ pass at the tackle line, whether the tip-on or as the passer is hit, is unsurpassed in the league and only the Saints scored more than Quins’ 95 tries.
Locks Matt Symons and Hugh Tizard have departed but the club has recruited like-for-like replacements in the industrious Irné Herbst and more mobile Charlie Matthews, a Quins veteran back from Japan.
Smith gets enough love so let’s hear it for his pal Alex Dombrandt, described in TheGuardian as like “a strawberry daiquiri on a trayful of lagers”. The Test No 8’s running lines, soft hands and offload skills make him a dream to watch and his defensive work is now of international class.
Murley, their 2021-22 Player of the Year, made a chart-topping 24 clean breaks last season and is averaging a try every two matches in the competition.
Test honours surely loom for the physical 23-year-old.
Harlequins are the only team to have reached the play-offs in the two previous campaigns. They should be bang in the mix again.
NickBuckland: “The best signings we’ve made are key players extending their contracts. Could you bet against us doing it again? Standout player for me would be shying away from the obvious, Andre Esterhuizen, to Cadan Murley, incredible last season going forward and in the tackle. He cannot continue to be overlooked by England!”