Audio picks up Joe Marler confrontation with former England international in bid to save ref
Banter prop Joe Marler gives the ref a helping hand after a former England fullback Nick Abendanon queried a call.
Marler was, of course, extracting the Michael, but it was a welcome break from the norm, everyone involved in the three-way trialogue taking it in the spirit it was meant.
Harlequins’ final match of the 2019/20 Heineken Champions Cup campaign saw centre Tom Penny make his debut for the Club, with Academy hooker Sam Riley in line for his first appearance, off the bench.
Head of Rugby at Harlequins, Paul Gustard said: “We wanted to make sure that we have a big, physical team to counter the threats of Clermont. We know they have a very strong set-piece, they have the highest ball-winning lineout in the French Top 14 and we need to cut off their water and lights.
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“Obviously we were disappointed with our results in the competition this season; Clermont ran away with it against us, as they have done with a few teams this year. We want to continue building on the momentum gained by beating Bath last Friday and we want to sign off this year’s competition – a competition we fought really hard to enter – with a performance that we can be proud of.
“We have 27 or 28 fit players to choose from that are eligible in this competition and it’s important that they give us some momentum to carry into our match against Saracens next week with a strong performance.”
Four players will make their 50th tournament appearances if selected this weekend. Danny Care (Harlequins) is on the brink of the milestone as well as Rob Harley (Glasgow Warriors), Dave Kilcoyne (Munster Rugby) and Rhys Priestland (Bath Rugby).
Harlequins Starting XV:
1 Joe Marler (200)
2 Jack Musk (8)
3 Will Collier (164)
4 Glen Young (8)
5 Tevita Cavubati (10)
6 Dino Lamb (24)
7 James Chisholm (82) (C)
8 Alex Dombrandt (37)
9 Martin Landajo (11)
10 Brett Herron (6)
11 Cadan Murley (26)
12 Tom Penny (0)
13 Luke Northmore (2)
14 Ross Chisholm (116)
15 Aaron Morris (38)
Game Changers:
16 Sam Riley (0)
17 Nick Auterac (19)
18 Kyle Sinckler (144)
19 Toby Freeman (2)
20 Semi Kunatani (18)
21 Niall Saunders (12)
22 Marcus Smith (72)
23 Gabriel Ibitoye (33)
Not available due to injury:
Forwards
Rob Buchanan
Scott Baldwin
Max Crumpton
Elia Elia
George Head
Phil Swainston
Matt Symons
Stephan Lewies
Jack Clifford
Archie White
Will Evans
Tom Lawday
Backs
James Lang
Paul Lasike
Ben Tapuai
Francis Saili
Michele Campagnaro
Nathan Earle
Travis Ismaiel
Mike Brown
