15 for 10: Harlequins - an all-decade XV
RugbyPass have bid farewell to the West Country following our looks at Bath, Bristol Bears, Exeter Chiefs and Gloucester, and now the 15 for 10 series moves east to London and Harlequins.
Aside from their title-winning season in the Gallagher Premiership in 2011/12, it has been a tough period for Quins, with the traditional English powerhouse having found themselves in the Challenge Cup rather than the Champions Cup in six of the nine full seasons within the decade.
In selecting the all-decade XV, some positions were obvious and beyond dispute while others were much tougher calls, with two or three players all with a valid claim on the spot.
- Mike Brown
We start with perhaps the easiest selection of all. Brown may not have been every England fan’s cup of tea, but his service to Quins, both in terms of ability and impact on the field as well as his longevity and durability off of it, has been exemplary. Since announcing himself during the club’s season in the Greene King IPA Championship, Brown has been a stalwart at the back for the Twickenham-based outfit.
- Ugo Monye
Another relatively easy call, Monye was the prototype wing that every club in the Premiership wanted. He was as reliable in defence and dealing with the contested aerial balls as he was incisive and explosive in attack. He spent his entire club career with Quins, which included five years at the beginning of the decade. Moving forward the likes of Gabriel Ibitoye and Cadan Murley will be hoping they can replicate the impact he had.
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13. Joe Marchant
Potentially recent bias is at play here, with George Lowe and Matt Hopper both having served the club with distinction over a longer period, but Marchant’s ability to unlock defences is perhaps in a league of its own in comparison. Quins fans will watch his upcoming loan to the Blues in Super Rugby with interest, as the young outside centre has already shown what a difference he can be for the club.
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- Jordan Turner-Hall
As with Lowe, it’s a case of what could have been for Turner-Hall had injuries not plagued him and forced him into an early retirement. He gave Premiership defences nightmares with his powerful carrying up the middle and he was unlucky not to finish his career with more than the two England caps he won. Despite retiring just over four years ago, Turner-Hall is still only 31.
- Tom Williams
Despite forever being linked with the Bloodgate scandal that rocked the club in 2009, Williams’ playing ability was considerable and his impact on Quins, which saw him make over 200 appearances for the club, shouldn’t be glossed over. After coming back from the twelve-month ban for his involvement in the incident, Williams put his head down and got to work on the opposite wing to Monye and was vital to helping the club lift the title back in 2012.
- Nick Evans
Perhaps the best import in Premiership history? Even if you are on the Schalk Brits side of that debate, there is no denying Evans’ place in this XV. He ran Quins’ backline with aplomb, was a reliable goal-kicker and, just like the elite quarterbacks in the NFL, he seemed to raise the games of the players around him. He is quite the mentor for Marcus Smith moving forward.
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- Danny Care
Like Brown, Monye, Smith et al, Care has embodied Quins over the past decade and his livewire, high-tempo play at nine has been a big part of the ‘Quins DNA’ still being a talked about concept. He may have only deputised for Ben Youngs at international level, but he was the go-to man for his club and some of the best rugby that Quins have played over this period of time has come off the back of his sniping runs and quick service.
- Joe Marler
Another club stalwart, Marler has been with Quins since 2009 and is closing in on 200 appearances in the famous quartered jersey. Over the last decade he has established himself as one of the best loosehead props in the Premiership, not to mention singling himself out as the best scrummaging option that Eddie Jones and England can call upon.
- Joe Gray
Rob Buchanan definitely deserves an honourable mention here due to his consistency and longevity, though Gray was knocking on the door of regular England caps earlier in the decade. His early years at Quins saw him hit the highest form of his career and it did ultimately win him his one and only England cap in 2014.
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- Kyle Sinckler
A strong finish to the decade gives Sinckler the edge here over James Johnston, with the English tighthead’s ability in the loose and improving scrum fortunes of late singling him out as perhaps the most complete prop that Quins have been able to call on over the past 10 years. If his rumoured departure at the end of this season comes to be, Quins will find it hard to replace the British and Irish Lion.
- George Robson
Robson clocked up over 200 appearances for Quins in a nine-year spell that saw him lift the Premiership title in 2012 and forge an uncompromising partnership with Olly Kohn. Another of the Quins players unlucky not to have had more of a look in with England, Robson was the all-round player in the loose and valuable lineout target that complemented the size and power of Kohn in that engine room.
- James Horwill
The former Australian lock and captain arrived at a time when Quins’ fortunes were diminishing on the pitch and although that was a trend that no singular person could reverse, Horwill’s performances for the club, particularly in his second season onward, were exemplary. The commitment and quality that he played with always seemed vital to the wins that Quins were able to enjoy over the final few years of his career.
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- Chris Robshaw
It seems inevitable that this spot was going to go to Robshaw for his years of excellent service, though that should not diminish the impacts that Maurie Fa’asavalu and James Chisholm have had. Fa’asavalu starred earlier in the decade, while Chisholm has prospered later in it, but it is Robshaw who has excelled over the entire span of it. An England and Quins captain, Robshaw is unfairly underappreciated due to the his struggles at the 2015 World Cup.
- Jack Clifford
A tough call between Clifford and Luke Wallace, with both having suffered their fair share of injury issues. We have leant towards Clifford due to him having a slightly more all-round skill set to complement the fetching ability that both have in spades. Were it not for those injuries, former England under-20s captain Clifford could well have established himself as England’s number one choice long before Tom Curry and Sam Underhill arrived on the scene.
- Nick Easter
Alex Dombrandt looks like a strong favourite to occupy this position in ten years’ time, although it was Easter who truly flourished in the 2010s. Even in his 30s, Easter kept on producing dominant displays and he collected the Quins player of the year award twice during the decade. In addition to his 281 appearances for the club, Easter also racked up 54 international caps for England and played in both the 2011 and 2015 World Cups.
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Comments on RugbyPass
Ben Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
86 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to comments