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#Post#: 76938--------------------------------------------------
Re: Nick Evans: 'People think we fluked the Premiership title
DIR By: Brown Bottle
Date: October 29, 2021, 3:56 am
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--- Quote from: TeddingtonQuin link ---
>
> Quite!
>
> Please note that those of us that have made sensible ignore
options that it get undone if you quote a post that really
should be ignored. if you feel that you have to respond, please
think of the ignorers and just reply ;)
>
--- End Quote ---
It's your choice to ignore someone but it's not up to you to
decide who everyone else should ignore.
#Post#: 76939--------------------------------------------------
Re: Nick Evans: 'People think we fluked the Premiership title
DIR By: TeddingtonQuin
Date: October 29, 2021, 4:11 am
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--- Quote from: Brown Bottle link ---
>
> It's your choice to ignore someone but it's not up to you to
decide who everyone else should ignore.
>
--- End Quote ---
I've not decided it for everyone else, just made a polite and
light hearted request. SoH back on please
#Post#: 76940--------------------------------------------------
Re: Nick Evans: 'People think we fluked the Premiership title
DIR By: poorfour
Date: October 29, 2021, 4:21 am
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--- Quote from: Banstead Quin link ---
>
> Now now Poorfour, you know not to feed the trolls!
>
> I think what we achieved in both title winning years was
nothing short of magnificent. Right place, right time and right
coaching strategies. It was a shame we didn't kick on after 2012
but it feels so different this time.
>
--- End Quote ---
I'm not sure it does. Our start to the 2012-13 season was
astonishing - I think it was 10 wins in a row, only derailed by
Sarries over Christmas. However, from that point on we gradually
fell behind the leaders. We still made the semis but got easily
beaten by Tigers that year, and despite a bright start
ultimately overwhelmed by Sarries the following year.
Reflecting on what went wrong, I think there were probably two
factors. Firstly, we started to lose some of the key players (as
I've listed above) and didn't have the quality of recruitment or
academy pipeline coming through.
I know someone whose son was in the Academy for a while. His
view was that the first generation of academy graduates - the
core of the 2011-12 side - were the real fluke, and then it took
1-2 more generations before they got the processes and training
right to prepare kids to be pro players. And then we were
unlucky with a swathe of really promising players who got career
ending injuries - Clifford, Buchanan, Sam Stuart, even the
Chisholms to some degree - before the pipeline really started
producing again.
At the same time, it also took until last year for our external
recruitment to start working properly. I don't think anyone
would deny that Wilco, Stephan and Andre are the best new
players we've brought in from outside since Big Mo.
The second factor is about how we play. I thought for a long
time that the idea that Quins play in a swashbuckling style was
a lazy generalisation, but both Prem wins came from them
embracing that style of play and playing with a tempo and
fitness that others couldn't match. I remember the moment I
thought we could win the 2012 Final, and it was on reading an
article that contrasted Leicester training at their usual ground
in their usual way with the fancy Dans from Quins jaunting off
to Abu Dhabi for a jolly, and playing continuous, non-stop games
for extended periods.
Then I checked the weather forecast for the final, and it was
predicted that the temperature on the pitch would get up to 32
degrees celsius. Going to Abu Dhabi wasn't a jolly, it was
preparing for the conditions - and it paid off. It's the same in
2021 - the white vests and Protecht mouthguards created a prop
who could put in as thundering a tackle in minute 100 as in
minute 1, even if he could barely waddle off the pitch
afterwards.
JK and Gustard tried to add a bit of pragmatism and defensive
grit to the side and it made for joyless rugby and uncommitted
players. But it seems that our players play best when they're
allowed to play, and that buckling the swash really is part of
the Quins culture.
Can we sustain it? Hard to say. In the pro era, only Wasps,
Leicester and (cough, cough) Saracens have won the title back to
back. Making the playoffs again would be a good achievement;
doing it in away that gives confidence that we can keep doing it
would be even better.
#Post#: 76977--------------------------------------------------
Re: Nick Evans: 'People think we fluked the Premiership title
DIR By: MadMax
Date: October 29, 2021, 7:07 am
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--- Quote from: Brown Bottle link ---
>
> It's your choice to ignore someone but it's not up to you to
decide who everyone else should ignore.
>
--- End Quote ---
I'm going to ignore this comment from you.
Doh!
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