CARE AND MARCHANT LINE UP AT SCRUM HALF AND OUTSIDE CENTRE; HORWILL RETURNS IN THE SECOND ROW
Harlequins are boosted by the return of Danny Care, Will Collier, James Horwill and Joe Marchant squad for Friday night's important home fixture with Leicester Tigers (kick-off 7.45pm).
Care and Marchant return at scrum half and outside centre respectively with Gabriel Ibitoye on the right wing in a set of backs with considerable attacking potential.
Horwill returns in the second row and Collier is listed among the game changers with Rob Buchanan who is set to make his first home appearance this season after only returning to competitive rugby a few weeks ago.
Joe Marchant touches down at Twickenham
Looking forward to the match, Harlequins Head of Rugby Paul Gustard said: “Our performances of late have been pleasing as we enter the final stretch of the season. We have demonstrated throughout the year our resilience and tenacity and in the last two weeks we have yet again shown how competitive we are with strong outings at Clermont and Exeter.
“At Exeter we created a lot of pressure with our defence, created a lot of space in our attack and dominated them with our scrum. We know Leicester pride themselves in this area and have a couple of ‘savvy’ operators so it’s a battle we look forward to and one in which we will trust the referee to officiate the Tigers keenly.
James Horwill returns for Leicester
“We are still fighting to be in the top four and we’ll be giving our all for that tomorrow evening. Tigers are a strong outfit with lots of excellent players and whose results don’t always reflect their performances. They are a proud club and we will respect them as we do all our opponents. That said we must focus on ourselves as that’s all we can control. We have had a good week’s preparation and we are pleased to welcome back a few of our injured boys in this crucial fixture.
“We’re looking forward to seeing and hearing The Stoop rocking and rolling tomorrow evening. ‘Friday Night Lights’ at home is an incredible atmosphere and we want it full and we want it loud!”
Harlequins squad to play Leicester Tigers in the Gallagher Premiership (Friday 3 May, The Stoop, kick-off: 19:45)
15. Mike Brown
14. Gabriel Ibitoye
13. Joe Marchant
12. Ben Tapuai
11. Charlie Walker
10. Marcus Smith
9. Danny Care
1. Joe Marler
2. Elia Elia
3. Kyle Sinckler
4. Mat Symons
5. James Horwill (CC)
6. Alex Dombrandt
7. Chris Robshaw (CC)
8. Jack Clifford
Game Changers
16. Rob Buchanan
17. Nic Auterac
18. Will Collier
19. Stan South
20. Semi Kunatani
21. Sam Hildago-Clyne
22. James Lang
23. Ross Chisholm
Not considered for selection
Front Row
Max Crumpton
Mark Lambert
Josh McNulty
Second Row
Ben Glynn
Dino Lamb
Back Row
James Chisholm
Half Backs
Dave Lewis
Charlie Mulchrone
Calum Waters
Centres
Henry Cheeseman
Paul Lasike
Francis Saili
Wingers
Nathan Earle
Aaron Morris
Cadan Murley
