"Crunch Time" Saracens v Harlequins: The Showdown 3 - Tabai Matson Preview's London Derby

The 'Showdown' matches are Saracens' marquee events, as the 'men in black' take to North London's 62,000 capacity stadium. The event is similar to Harlequins' 'Big Game' series, which just a fortnight ago saw Quins dismantle Exeter Chiefs 40-5 at Twickenham Stadium.

Harlequins Head Coach Tabai Matson believes it is now 'crunch time' against Saracens. Quins currently sit at eighth in the Gallagher Premiership, eight points adrift of the play-off spots. Four matches remain in the regular season, and Matson backs his side for a last-minute comeback in classic Quins style.

"Where we are on the table, what we need out of these last four games, and who we're playing and where we're playing, yes, it's absolutely crunch time."

"We have to bring our best game. And we have to do it consistently for exactly that reason, same happened last year actually, to be fair (against Saracens), start very well, and they back their systems, and they back their pedigree. And they know that actually in the long run, they'll eventually overwhelm a team.

"And so for us, that's part of the crunch time you talked about there, we're not only going to play well, but we're going to do for a long, long period. And that's exciting, you know, for us this performance is critical, you can push on from this or you can whimper out. So we've had a good couple of days and looking forward to another training day before the showdown."

Matson is excited for another big occasion for his side, with hopes of re-building after a definite drop in form away to Bristol. Harlequins were beaten 51-26 by the Bears, who could not be contained at Ashton Gate. Matson's side are prepared, and will be firing on all cylinders with the return of their Six Nations stars.

"Yeah, I think it's the nature of a long season, you expect to not have everybody available every week. But this is one of those weeks where we've got a lot of guys who have come back online, and clearly the international window's over. So, we've got everybody to select from, which is always great isn't it, when you get to crunch time, having your best players available. And selection is clearly much harder with a full roster."

Marcus Smith makes his return to Harlequins ahead for the Showdown, as he lines up against his England team rival Owen Farrell, in what is shaping up to be a key battle at fly half. Smith had a rollercoaster Six Nations, constantly in the spotlight around Steve Borthwick's selections. The 24-year-old was dropped after receiving just 14 seconds of gametime against Wales, yet returned to the squad after an incredible outing against Exeter Chiefs.

Smith was one of England's few positive performances in the historic loss to France, yet was again dropped to the bench against Ireland. Matson discussed how Smith brings high energy, every time he comes back from an England camp.

"I think I can only comment on when he's come back. He came back for the Big Game, and he bossed us, and he's exactly the same guy as he was when he came back for the Exeter game, two weeks ago.

"So he's bounced back in and keen to be involved in this match. He knows it's an important one. It's a crunch game for the club, and he want he wants to contribute. And he's come in with that same energy, as he always does, you know, through the leadership. I mean, today when he was driving the team around as a 10, it's that energy that makes him such a good player."

"I think all the good players and he's (Smith) one of them, are performance driven. So if they don't play well, it grates them and they work harder to improve that. So even against France, even though the result was poor, I thought he was pretty good, and the team that was battling.

"You know, clearly selection or non selection, I have no idea what happened for the England camp, but he wants to push his game to another level, and that's all performance driven. It's not about rivalries, and even about team you're up against, it's about the game plan."

Matson recognises the headline rivalry between the two sides, with Marcus Smith and Owen Farrell in opposing 10 jerseys being a big selling point for this Saturday. The Harlequins Head Coach played down the personal battle, yet recognises the threat that the Saracen fly half brings to the Showdown.

"We will highlight different people in their team that if we shut down, clearly Owen is one of them, because he's the 10. But the rivalry between them as I think is, is different, because we want Marcus to come back and do his job really well. And if he does that the team flys as we've seen before. So you know, as he did against Exeter he'll be focused on that.

"And then you can create a story around the actual individual matchup, but it's funny, they often don't end up tackling each other or running against each other, you know, the nature of the game now. But in most in both cases, they're really important for both teams, you know, whether he's (Farrell's) available or he's resting, I'm not sure. If he's playing he's an important piece, so we'll be targeting him."