By Sarrov
October 18 2026

I have never liked the Champions Cup anyway, the league is what really matters!

All jokes aside, unlike “Europe” the Premiership represents a realistic chance of silverware this season. We have the squad to compete with anyone in the league, whether or not the same can be said for our coaching staff is definitely still up for debate.

On Sunday we head to The Stoop to take on Harlequins, a side that remains our keenest rival for my money. Quins have had a poor start to the season, losing all three of their league games so far and sitting rock bottom of the table. However, they looked a lot better against Sale last time out in the league and convincingly beat Vannes in their first Challenge Cup game.

A major factor in their improving form is the return of Marcus Smith. He seems to be developing a good understanding with new signing George Furbank which is allowing them to get the likes of Murley and Northmore into the game more. The game against Vannes was also the first run out of the season for wing Rodrigo Isgro. The Argentine is a player who can make something out of nothing with a combination of pace and power. 20 year old scrum half Lucas Friday is gaining experience at the top level week by week and looks a serious talent. Frankly, if we defend anything like we did against Connacht things could get slightly ugly.

Up front it is not such a pretty picture for the men from TW2. Their pack has come off second best in all three Prem games, with the likes of Cunningham-South punching well below their weight. Club captain Alex Dombrandt is likely to miss most (if not all) of the season due to an ACL injury. Their ranks will be bolstered however by the return of loosehead Fin Baxter.

As for our Saracens. I personally don’t think we have managed to put together an impressive 80 minutes so far this season. Leicester was an encouraging start and we comfortably beat a depleted Bristol, but the Sale and Connacht performances looked like a team who had never met each other before and with no plan B. The rotation policy seems to be inhibiting much cohesion between the players and they often look slightly lost in both attack and defence. There have been some bright signs in attack - most notably the set move for Elliott’s try against Leicester and the slick counter attack leading to Caluori crossing against Bristol. The scrum has also held its own or better in every game which hasn’t always been the case in the last few years. Alongside a generally solid line out we have a platform to play off, time for Dai Flanagan to earn his corn.

I know I speak for a lot of supporters when I say that Sunday is a massive fixture. Quins always raise their game against us and we often seem to turn up thinking we can cruise to victory. It is vital we bring accuracy and intensity from the first whistle, don’t give them a sniff. With that it mind, my side would be:

1. Mawi              16. Clake

2. George           17. Brantingham

3. Street             18. Weilbach

4. Itoje               19. Tizard

5. Martin            20. Michelow

6. JMG                21. C.Bracken

7. Knight            22. Hall

8. Earl                23. Caluori

9. Williams

10. Burke

11. Segun

12. Va’eneku

13. Cinti

14. J.Bracken

15. Malins

*assuming injuries to Carre, Dan, Hadfield, Sodeke, Barbeary, Hartley, Elliott

Whoever takes the field, let’s hope that there is more cohesion and some proof that our desire to “dominate” and “flip the script” to get defence back on top are more than just empty words.