Harlequins coach Gilmore excited for returning Marcus Smith to ignite London derby vs Saracens

This weekend's match-up must conjure up some sort of result for Quins as they bid to get their season back on track. A key talking point arising out of Harlequins' campaign so far has been their defence. Traditionally an attacking side, full of flair, Quins have been playing a game-plan of attrition, relying on their defensive structure hugely.

Harlequins senior coach, Jason Gilmore, said: "You look at the first two week, we've made over 200 tackles in each game and we only did that I think once last year against Sarries at the Stoop.

"Into that top 50, we've got to make sure that we're taking advantage of more opportunities. If I look at that second half (against Leicester Tigers) running into the breeze, you're not going to get as many as you're running with it.

"I think we had five crosses of their halfway line, but all five we literally turned over on the first phase. So, if we can build a little bit more pressure and territory and spend a bit more time in the opposition half, you're naturally going to start to shift the goal on where you're defending."

With the amount of defending that Quins have done, it invites the referee to take a closer look at the breakdown. This is perhaps a contributor to the high penalty count that the team has amassed.

Another issue plaguing various sides in the PREM has been injuries and player unavailability. Despite beating Gloucester over the weekend, Northampton Saints have been without a number of their key stars. This is the same for Quins too.

Ben Waghorn, Luke Northmore and Bryn Bradley have been out with injuries in the centres with Quins relying on fly half Jamie Benson to fill in at inside centre against Leicester.

However, their fortunes could be changing as their Lions and Rugby Championship players began training this week, namely Marcus Smith.

"We're looking pretty good the next two weeks. We've also got the Argentinian boys finished last week, so we've got them back into the building this week," said Gilmore.

"We've got Smith back in the hot seat, which is good. The next two weeks we're looking certainly better than what we have in the first two weeks.

"It's huge for us. I think I said a couple of weeks ago, he's our quarterback. He's our guy. He's a British and Irish Lion. He loves playing for Quins. He loves playing for the other boys.

"When you're sitting in a dressing room and Smithy's in there, you definitely get a boost."

Smith's return will be sure to incite excitement for all involved at Harlequins. After a strange season with England and the Lions, where he was deployed at full back, he will be raring to go up against Saracens at a packed out Stoop.

"He's probably wanted to play the last four weeks. He's been bouncing around at training in our team too. He's brought some really good learnings and getting ready for sessions, I certainly think that's been improved," said Gilmore.

"And I think that's purely a case of the people that he spent three months with at the Lions. So you can see a lot more maturity in his off-field in preparing. But yeah, he's keen as mustard."

Danny Wilson's departure as head coach will have been a huge shock to everyone. Not least was it in the first week of a new season but it leaves Quins without a recognised head coach.

Gilmore has taken the mantle as senior coach whilst it appears the club will lengthen their search for a new name to take charge of the club in the future.

Harlequins have been in this position before after Paul Gustard mutually agreed to leave the club in 2021 after a run of poor form. Notably, this was the season that Harlequins claimed their second Premiership title under a coaching contingent of Nick Evans, Adam Jones, Billy Millard and Jerry Flannery.

"The first week or two, it was a whirlwind. A lot more meetings and getting your head around things off the field in that role," Gilmore said.

"I'll probably feel a lot more settled this week, but there's still things that will pop up. So I think it'll probably take a month just to get the flow of my weeks right and still maintaining the defence and where I'm actually putting my work because obviously, first and foremost, it, and then the extra responsibility of obviously leading the program.

"I feel I'm probably coming out of the last three weeks where my head was spinning a little bit, if I'm honest. But, I certainly feel a lot more settled this week.

"I didn't want to come in and change the world because it didn't need to be changed. But one thing I have got my eye on is just changing the mindset of the playing squad to be able to express themselves on the football field and particularly with the ball.

"I feel we want some really good and that type of thing, but our boys get really excited by being aggressive with our attack."

Harlequins vs Saracens never disappoints. The arch-rivals will be raring to go and put a number on each other in an always feisty affair.

The return of Owen Farrell is an important factor. After a year away from the PREM with Racing 92 and a summer with the Lions, the England great has already made an impact with wins against Newcastle Red Bulls and Bristol Bears.

"You know what they're going to bring. They're going to be physical. They're going to back their defence. They bring a lot of energy with their individuals on the pitch," said Gilmore.

"Some people say we probably caught them in the jump in the first round at the Stoop, which is fine, but leading into Tottenham, I thought the boys prepared really well for that game and delivered a really good game plan.

"We know it's going to take 80 minutes. Saracens are in great form. They've had good preparation this year with the tour to South Africa. You can see they're a really close unit. to them. But yeah, we're ready for the challenge. It'll be a good weekend. "

If Harlequins are to take a result of the match, they need to draw on their excellent performance the last time Saracens ventured into southwest London. An awe-inspiring defensive display successfully shut out Saracens in a fine showing, befitting of a team that were able to graft for the full eighty minutes.

"I thought our set piece was really strong. Our ball defence in particular stopped a lot of Saracen's entries," said Gilmore, speaking on last year's home fixture.

"And with the ball, whilst we didn't have a lot of ball, probably the one chance that we had to break them open, we took it with Marcus and Lenny (Lennox Anyanwu) when he scored his try.

"So it's going to be no different. We're not going to get a lot of chances. going to have to be strong. So, it's almost a rinse and repeat."