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Ins and outs expected as Harlequins set to overhaul engine room

By Alex Shaw
Harlequins are set to shake up their engine room

It could be a new-look engine room for Harlequins next season, with sources confirming to RugbyPass that lock Charlie Matthews looks likely to leave the club at the end of the season.

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The 26-year-old is a product of the Quins academy and has accrued over 150 appearances for the club in the nine years he has spent there, but he has slipped down the pecking order this season.

Australian James Horwill is cemented into the second-row when fit and both fellow academy graduate George Merrick and former Bristol player Ben Glynn seem to have risen above Matthews in the pecking order of late.

The currently injured Sam Twomey is another factor to consider in that hierarchy when he returns to fitness after an operation on his foot, as are Stan South and senior academy lock John Okafor.

Quins are not believed to be content with their current options at the position, though, and have targeted Wasps lock Matt Symons to bolster their second-row stocks and provide competition for a starting spot.

The former Saracens academy member reinvigorated his career in New Zealand, playing a key role in the Chiefs’ playoff pushes in 2014 and 2015, before moving back to England in a bid to push for international recognition.

He initially joined London Irish in 2015, but left the club just a year later when they were relegated from the Premiership. He then made the move to Coventry to join Wasps, but a combination of England’s incumbent locks excelling and a horrid run of injuries has, thus far, seen him fail to make his way into the England squad.

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A move to Harlequins could help reignite those hopes ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, with the club not only keen to find a complementary partner to Horwill in the engine room, but also well-known for its ability to cultivate players for the national side.

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Bull Shark 27 minutes ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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