History will be kind to me because I intend to write it

JONES HOPING QUINS “BUILD A HEAD OF STEAM”

Having already qualified for the quarter-final of the Heineken Cup, the pressure has decreased for Harlequins ahead of their final Pool Four game against Llanelli Scarlets on Saturday at The Stoop. But Welsh prop Ceri Jones knows that if the London club are march further in the competition, it is important to defeat the Welsh region and gain a home advantage for the last eight – especially after a run of four games in all competitions without a win.

Last Saturday Quins lost 21-10 to Ulster at Ravenhill, in conditions that the coach Dean Richards described as the worst he has ever seen. Jones agrees, saying: “It was pretty difficult in those treacherous conditions, particularly in the second half – the crosswind was virtually unplayable. But Ulster played well and we did have opportunities to get back in the game.

“We have had some tough games in the last month – against Bath, Leicester, Wasps and a good Northampton side. It has not been easy. But I think we are playing well and are perfectly in place to push on from here.

“I think this is a perfect weekend for us, because the pressure is off and it is not all dependent upon qualification – we have already done that. We have a big game against the Scarlets to see if we can do an even better job of qualifying – we are hoping to get a home draw.

“But no matter who you play in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup it is going to be a tough game. They were saying that if the results stayed as they were we could play [reigning champions] Munster at Thomond Park, which most people were thinking would be a tough game – but I think it is an exciting prospect.”

Jones, who won two caps for his county in 2007, signed for Quins in February 2003, initially on loan as cover for injured props Jason Leonard, Laurent Gomez and Bruce Starr. After impressing he put pen to paper on a permanent deal and has play over 150 times for the club – through relegation-battles, in National League Division One, and now in Europe.

“It’s brilliant,” says the 31-year-old, “I’ve gone full circus at Quins. Since I have been here I have seen everything you can see in rugby. It’s been a real roller-coaster ride, but at the same time it has been very enjoyable. Quins are a great club to be part of and the way things are going, with the team constantly developing, there are exciting times ahead.

“We are only two wins off top spot in the Guinness Premiership, and whoever we play in the last eight of the Heineken Cup we are going to go out there and give it our very best. And who knows? We could play very well and get to the semi-final, and perhaps even further. You can’t help but get drawn in by these exciting times.”

Scarlets pulled off a terrific 36-17 win over Stade Francais at their new ground, Parc y Scarlets, last weekend. And Jones expects the game will be far from a foregone conclusion, especially with some of the players the Llanelli side have at their disposal.

“Regan King is a fantastic ball player and he is on top form – we will have to watch him carefully,” he adds. “His partnership in the centre with Jonathan Davies is really flourishing. Steven Jones is a class No10 – he can do it all. And even with the injuries they have got they have some very exciting backs and experienced forwards. They are a class team and, after their performance against Stade, I’m sure they are going to come out with much more confidence and wanting to do a job against us.

“We are very excited about the game, too. We don’t want to go into the quarter-finals on a defeat – we want a win and to get as many points from our group as possible. We want to go through to the last eight with a head of steam.”

Labels: Ceri Jones, Heineken Cup, Llanelli Scarlets, London Harlequins, Ulster

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 11:51 pm | Permalink | Comments

BROWN HOPING TO PROVE QUINS' CANDIDACY

Mike Brown believes that if Harlequins can defeat Irish giants Ulster in their own backyard, at the intimidating Ravenhill, then it will further prove to the rugby world that he and his young team will have come of age. A victory on Saturday for the full-back and his pals would ensure passage to the quarter-finals of Europe’s biggest club competition, and a continuation of a sparkling campaign.

Quins go in to Saturday's match atop Heineken Cup Group Four, having achieved a memorable double over European behemoth Stade Francais – results that made doubters of the ability of Dean Richards’s team eat their words.

“People outside didn't really take us seriously before then,” says the 23-year-old, capped thrice for England, of Round three’s 15-10 win in Paris. “They still saw us a young Quins team who could win the odd big game but who were still progressing. That win showed everyone that we can do it on the biggest stage. The guys in the dressing room had belief beforehand that we could beat Stade - and that's what counted.

“But now it puts it puts us in the position where we go away and teams really want to beat us because of what we have done to Stade. That puts a lot more pressure on us but I'm hopeful that we can live up to that and keep playing the way we have been.

“It was an amazing spectacle at Stade Francais, though I didn't get a chance to see any of the entertainment beforehand. It was quite difficult to block it all out as there was so much going on.

“It was very surreal for me as it felt so much like an international and I was there playing with my Harlequins mates. It was such a fast, physical game, and very strange for me. There were just under 80,000 people watching at Stade and that is very rare in club rugby. It was amazing for all the guys to get that experience.”

The star man on that day in France’s capital, and the following week when Quins eked out a 19-17 win, was All Black Nick Evans. The 28-year-old masterminded the Londoners’ attack, and – as he is also a handy No15 – Brown admits that he is learning a lot from the New Zealander.

He continues: “Nick is such a good player and when he is playing No10 it helps everyone in the back line because he does play an expansive game, as all Kiwis do, and he runs the game well. It is good for me – if I have some queries about playing full-back, because I am still learning, then he can help me as he has played at the top level in my position.

“He is always willing to help me out positionally, he has ideas in defence, knows when a full-back should come in to the line and when we are on the counter-attack he knows what to look for.”

When Ulster visited the Stoop back in October, a good first half showing from the home team paved the way for a convincing 42-21 victory. Brown crossed for a try – one of six so far this season – but he is expecting Ulster to be much less of a push over on home soil.

“We are not taking them lightly,” he says, “as we know they are a good team, especially at home. They would love a win over the English boys, too, so we know Ravenhill will be a hard place to go and play.

“I've only played there once before, on a sopping wet Friday night for the Saxons, so I know what to expect. The closest thing to the atmosphere we can expect is that found at Gloucester's Kingsholm. It will be very intimidating but the boys are very much looking forward to that.”

Quins fly to Dublin having not won since the heroics against Stade Francais – a draw with Leicester, defeats to Northampton and Wasps followed. And last weekend’s game over struggling Worcester was frozen off. So Brown is desperate to post a ‘W’ against Ulster.

“We are raring to go for this weekend,” he adds. “It was disappointing to have the game against Saracens called off, but on the plus side some guys who have played a lot of games get a rest.

“In our last game it was disappointing to lose to Wasps as we thought we would have a good chance of turning them over. But they came out firing and in the first half we were very poor. We were trying to force things too much. But the vibe inside the camp is good – all the boys are enjoying their rugby and we are still very confident in our ability.”

Labels: Heineken Cup, London Harlequins, Mike Brown, Ulster

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 10:29 am | Permalink | Comments