Guido Petti has clear view on the mindset shift needed by Harlequins

Having been pleasantly surprised by the azure sea off the coast of Cornwall, Argentinean enforcer Guido Petti is now hoping Harlequins can put clear water between themselves and the bottom of the PREM.

Harlequins are currently ninth on 10 points, only five ahead of basement side Newcastle. And with only eight matches of the regular season to go, the play-offs have long been out of their reach.

But while the Londoners will only be playing for pride in the league, wins at home to Gloucester this Saturday and the following week away to Bristol in Cardiff, will give Jason Gilmore’s team momentum going into the home tie against Sale Sharks in the Champions Cup Round of 16.

“It would be really nice to start like that, with two wins. Two great matches to play, one at the Stoop and one in Cardiff in an amazing stadium against one of the best teams in the league at the moment. But I don’t think we need to look too far away, we need to take it week by week. This is rugby. Day by day you need to train and prepare yourself because thinking too far away and thinking in blocks can sometimes can be tricky,” said Petti, who has won 98 caps for the Pumas.

“We need to put in a nice performance this weekend against Gloucester and then start building up from there. For sure, we will get some England guys back with us, the Argentineans will be back, so we need to also put ourselves back in the team, have our heads back.”

Harlequins have only had back-to-back wins once this season, against the Stormers and La Rochelle in the Champions Cup in January, and Petti is looking for more consistency.

“What everyone needs to understand in this sport is if you don’t have consistency, you have nothing. It is not playing good one week and the other week being horrible, it is improving every week.

“And it is not because you have won one week, the next week you are going to do well, it’s about getting in on a Monday, at 8 o’clock in the morning, and preparing for the week as if you are starting from zero. I think that is the mentality we need to have as a group.”

Buenos Aires-born Petti, a fluent English speaker, and the club’s other Pumas have all had time off back home in Argentina, as well as venturing to Cornwall with the squad for a mid-season reset, which culminated in a 61-22 ‘Tribute Cup’ victory against the Cornish Pirates.

“It was really nice going back home, spending time with my family and friends; it was really chilled and gives you some energy. Now it is on us to bring that energy into the second period,” he insisted.

“I think the mental side is the most important because when you are in a good place mentally, the body follows.”

As for his first visit to the English seaside, the 31-year-old said it was a good exercise. “It was my first time, really nice, I was not expecting that kind of water, really clear. It was not as busy or as nice weather as it would be in summer, but it was still really nice to be there and it was a nice time with the boys. We had a lot of guys from the academy so it was really nice to get to know the guys more deeply.”