The result of the season so far came at The Stoop last Saturday where Harlequins, who had followed a narrow victory over promoted Bristol with tame defeats at Sale and Exeter, disarmed the explosive and unbeaten champions Saracens. It was a singular performance by the club with the multicoloured jersey, steel added to shine.
“We had some honest chats about what we needed to do after our defeats on the road and the mentality was right against Saracens,” says James Horwill, the former Australia captain and second row who joined Quins last season. “The task now is to maintain that going forward, starting with Wasps on Sunday.
“In the past, we had a way we wanted to play and were perhaps a bit stubborn in that. We had soft moments and needed to get rid of them. We still want to move the ball and have an up-tempo game, but we know we have to get the core parts right, winning collisions, contesting the breakdown and being strong in the set pieces.”
Horwill has had to pay more attention to the set pieces, scrums especially, since making the move from Australia where, this century, there has been little relish for packing down. Graham Rowntree has taken charge of that area this season for Quins, three years after being part of the Lions management team on the successful tour to Australia when Horwill was the Wallabies’ captain.
“Graham is a big part of pushing our set piece on,” says Horwill. “If you do not get your scrum right in the Premiership, you will struggle. The conditions here mean you have to work on it.
“Super Rugby is different because you play in pretty large stadiums on good surfaces and the weather is set fair for 90% of the time. That all influences the way games are played, free-flowing and fast, not grinding set-piece affairs. Rugby here is demanding, different to what I was used to, and I relish the challenge it poses.”
Under Michael Cheika, Australia have worked on their scrummaging, as England found out during last year’s World Cup at Twickenham, a defeat that prompted them to hire an Australian, Eddie Jones, who has yet to taste defeat. “What is important at home is that young props are being developed and work in a specialised position is starting earlier,” says Horwill. “We know that you do not get away with a weak scrum in Tests.”
It is not so much the scrum that is concerning Australia now as everything else. Since losing to New Zealand in last year’s World Cup final at Twickenham, they have been whitewashed in a three-Test series at home by England and swatted aside twice by New Zealand. Feted as a saviour 12 months ago, Cheika has had to defend his new contract.
“Things can change quickly and it does not pay to look too far ahead,” says Horwill. “Just as you should not be too confident when you are doing well, you cannot get too down when results go against you. England will be the favourites when they meet the Wallabies in the autumn, but Australia have the quality to turn it around.
“Momentum is a wonderful thing and England have it: Eddie has given them understanding and the way they want to play is clear. They have a confidence that was lacking in the World Cup and they are producing some outstanding young players.”
Horwill will take the opportunity to catch up with his former colleagues on Saturday when Australia meet Argentina at Twickenham after Harlequins have taken on Northampton at The Stoop. “They are staying not far from where I live,” says Horwill, who has no regrets at turning his back on the international game when he moved to London, although as the holder of 61 caps he is no longer barred as an expat from playing for the Wallabies.
“It was a tough decision, but from the start of my career I had the ambition of playing overseas at some point,” he says. “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Harlequins, a great club, and while I always enjoyed playing for my country, an experience you never take for granted, it was the right time to experience something different. I have a year left on my contract and I am happy with the choice I made.”
Horwill should feel at home at Wasps. “They remind me of New Zealand Super Rugby teams in the way they like playing off fractured ball,” he says. “If you are loose against them, they will hurt you on the counterattack. We have to treasure the ball and limit their opportunities. Danny Cipriani has been doing great things for them and it sums up the strength of the game here that he cannot get into the England squad. I remember him from his days in Melbourne with the Rebels, a player of natural ability who is a challenge for anyone. We have to stop him from getting into his stride.”
