With 13 points the lead was extended by Northampton which was fought hard and they are in the top over Harlequins.

Nick Evans gave two penalties by which Samu Manoa’s attempt was stuck in between. Lead by 7-6 by Saints was edgy. It was indiscipline on Quin’s part by which James Wilson could capitalise on.

The lead by the champions was extended. Victory was sealed by Tom Wood even though it was Marland Yarde that answered with the ending of the game. It was not something great from the Saints as they have reached the point mark of 60. In the Premiership three consecutive defeats from Conor O’Shea does not make it look spectacular.

At half time Evans had two penalties which came from the side of Manoa’s attempt that was scored by command. It was Tom Stephenson by which Wilson had to look at the full-back released for crossing the overlap. Quins with their 14 men had to succumb in the end. At the opportune time Wood claimed his stake with the final game of England trio, coming out of injury but with a bang.

Jim Mallinder, the director of Northampton Saints proclaimed that it was difficult for them due to Quins and the opponents did play well by maintaining the line and their team could not capitalise on the various phases of the game. It was testing time for their mauls with exquisite defense. In the beginning it was an excellent lead but could not retain the position but was happy with the lead.

The director of Harlequins Conor O’ Shea pointed out that they take each game at a time without concern about the results and their mission is to struggle till they are out. It is a testing period for them and need luck on their side. They are benefitting a lot from the matches.

Nick Easter, the number eight for Aviva Premiership Rugby Football Union club Harlequins FC is desperate for a recall to the England national set up as he believes he still has a lot of unfinished business on the international arena.

The 36 year old has not been capped by the England team since Stuart Lancaster became the head coach of the team following the debacle of the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in 2011. But with Ben Morgan being ruled out of action for the foreseeable future and fighting to get fit ahead of the Rugby World Cup on home soil in the summer, Easter has once again staked his claim to the number eight shirt for England.

He said that he still has the hunger to don the white jersey and perform his heart out. He also thinks that he has become a much better player than he was the last time he earned a cap, and Easter mentioned that he has matured off the field as well.

But the Harlequins FC man admitted that there is only so much he can do; adding that he can stake his claim for the national team and then, has to go back to performing for his club and be hopeful that it catches the eye of the national selectors.

Despite being exiled from the international circuit, Easter has been a consistent performer for his club as they won the Aviva Premiership in 2013 and Conor O’Shea, the Director of Rugby at Harlequins FC said that he will definitely back his players for the chance to play for England but he just doesn’t understand why it is taking so long for Easter to earn his recall, especially in the wake of the injury that Ben Morgan has suffered.
He added Easter is the man to replace him.

Champions Cup is ahead with Leinster playing as host to Harlequins. They have already faced defeat against Harlequins recently in England. The Leinster’s are pumped up to perform. However they do have some advantage in the Champions Cup. The game which they played at Aviva was not satisfactory. The results of the Champions Cup matter as it will decide who will go in the lap of last eight.

In the Pool 2 Harlequins are currently at the top with 12 points. Leinster is at second place one shot behind of Harlequins. The final game of Leinster is in January of the group with the Wasps. The coverage of the match will be shown live on BT Sport 2. It will be shown at 7:15 pm. As far as the team of Leinster is concerned four changes have been made to the side as they want to fix the reverse stature. In the beginning of XV they have- Zane Kirchner, Kane Douglas, Isaac Boss and Dominic Ryan. On the Harlequins side Chris Robshaw and Nick Evans are going to miss the game due to knee injury. Apparently the two changes made Leinster lose. To replace them Jack Clifford and Tim Swiel are coming.

Going by the track record Leinster have won seven games out of their last nine in the competitions. On the Irish soil Harlequins have just one game under their belt out of last games of six. In the six years, Leinster has always made it to the quarter finals of the Champions Cup. Harlequins have six games amidst seven games in the Champions Cup. They are better at the Aviva Stadium in comparison to Leinster. Both the teams are happy with the way they are playing and feel that they have it in them to win against each other.

Harlequins captain Joe Marler has reportedly sought apology on the social networking sphere for poor performance this time and has promised to get back in full glory by next week.
This was a kind of prosaic tone of describing 39-0 drubbing which was extended to Harlequins guys by Saracens in a match where Marler’s squad hardly came up with anything right. The Quins were so down par that the opponents didn’t require to come out of 3rd gear much.
Yes, it’s true that just 2 defeats are not enough to write the Quins off but the very poor manner by which these guys lost out to their rivals is seriously stressful for Harlequins rugby director.
There have been controversies on Harlequins’ captain switch from Robshaw (Chris) to Joe but certainly the latter shouldn’t be held liable for many players just failing to pass & catch the ball rightly. The devastating form that Harlequins are going through at present is not any simple domestic concern but it reaches out to English squad too. Joe has been seasoned now to this level that he can hand out serious competition to Corbisiero (Alex) at loosehead. Mike Brown and Danny Care invention sparks in some attacks that had otherwise seemed very formulaic, regardless of its great physical prowess.
Robshaw’s off form was quite a concern for his club but then again the star player has now returned to his old stellar form and has shut down all his critics with his latest massive performance. It is not only a great news for the Harlequins but also for Stuart Lancaster, head coach of the English rugby team. But then again Chris is yet to prove his present form is stellar enough to get him selected as the first choice for the Worlds.

Rugby is one of the most popular sports in the country of Kenya. The people of the country are often plagued by several domestic and international problems but still find within them the spirit to enjoy sports. A team game like rugby helps a lot in the all round development of individuals. Beach Rugby has also come of age in the country. A number of clubs have been set up in the provinces which nurture new talent. However the major aim is to promote the spirit of the game. The Watamu five a side Beach Rugby that concluded recently proved to be a huge success among the players as well as the fans.
The final was played between the Masaku Rugby team and Mombasa Technical University at the Garoda Beach resort in Kilfy County. The special guests of the night included Kilfy county governor Amason Kingi. A huge number of spectators turned out for the event and voiced their support for their respective teams. Masaku won the match by demolishing the team representing the university as the score line stood at 20-5. Samuel Muregi and Kevin Macharia were the first two players to score ten points from their try attempts. Macharia was the star performer although his efforts were given some resistance by Kevin Omondi. Macharia became the top scorer of the tournament with a spectacular hat trick which put him on the same position as Joakim Mwasi of the Shaxx team. The semi final matches were convincingly won by both sides with Masaku defeating Gede and MTU beating Malindi.
Sharks lifted the Shield Cup and Shaxx emerged as the winners in the Bowl Final. The Beach Rugby event received great impetus as Airtel and Standard Group limited became the official sponsors. An exhibition match was also played between Airtel and the media team and the Kilfy County Assembly.

Ireland has always taken enough pride in their rugby team. It is one of the major sports in the country and is followed by many. Ireland has been nurturing talent sin the sport since a long time. Their game is characterized by agility, power, tactics and a gritty attitude. The domestic clubs pay enough importance to the local talents. Clubs like Lancaster has achieved enough success in the international arena. Brian O’Driscoll who is considered as one of the greatest ever to play the game for Ireland has been a constant threat to the opponents in his central position. He has recently retired from the game after a record 141 tests that he has played over his career. But the idea do not seem to have sunk in to the superstar as of yet. This was visible when he addressed the press after Ireland’s triumph over France in the Six Nations Championships.
Joe Schmidt is the present coach of Ireland and the players have always seemed happy under him. When Brian was asked about the role of the coach in the team he said that they knew the way they wanted to play the game. But he smiled and checked himself by saying that he would not be involved in the team meeting. It has been a long journey of fourteen years for O’Driscoll and the fans as well as the officials were emotional at his decision to retire. Schmidt had worked with him earlier in Leinster for three years and their collaboration became a by word in the Ireland dressing room. Driscoll repented for not having beaten the All Blacks even once in his lifetime. His next few seasons will be under scrutiny as he has a lot of work to do for Leinster beginning from the Heineken Club quarter final against Toulon.

Aviva Premiership Rugby Football Union club Harlequins FC has announced the contract extension of England prop Joe Marler by another two years, which will see him remain at the club till 2016.

Marler graduated from the famous academy of the club and since he was given his start with the senior squad in 2010, his rise has been phenomenal to say the least and he is considered as one of the most powerful players at front row in Europe at the moment.

The 23 year old has notched up over 100 appearances for the London club and he was instrumental in the club’s success in the European Challenge Cup in 2011 and the Aviva Premiership victory the following season.

The charismatic prop forward has gained international honors at every age group level for the national team and has 19 senior international caps to his name already after he made his debut for the England team during their summer tour of South Africa back in 2012.

His most recent achievement for the national was leading them to their first Triple Crown honor in ten years and he was a key player for Stuart Lancaster during the Six Nations Championship as well.

And Conor O’Shea, the Director of Rugby of Harlequins FC has announced his delight with the player pledging his future to the club.

He added that it is incredible for a player to have made over 100 senior appearances at 23 years of age.

O’Shea mentioned that Marler loves the club and knows it inside out and he wants to be a cornerstone for success for Harlequins FC and with his development as one of the best loose head props in international rugby, the club is surely in very good hands as it looks to a build a long legacy.

Aviva Premiership Rugby Football Union club Harlequins FC has announced that six first team squad players, including Ben Botica have committed their long terms futures to the club after penning new contracts.

The likes of Rob Buchanan, Joe Gray, Tom Casson, Dave Ward and Charlie Matthews – all young prospects for the England team – have penned contract extensions till the end of the 2015/16 season while Botica’s new deal will see him stay at the club till the 2016/17 season.

The three hookers Ward, Gray and Buchanan have all made a name for themselves in recent weeks, performing beyond their years for their club and have caught the eye of the England selectors who are keen on drafting them into the side ahead of the Rugby World Cup 2015.

While Gray and Buchanan have toured with England, Ward is yet to make his bow for the senior squad although he has played for the England Saxons in the pre-2014 Six Nations fixtures.

Harlequins FC has been consolidating their side over the last few months, ever since the club won the Aviva Premiership title in 2012 and with the extension of contracts of these players, they are creating a strong foundation of youth as the core of the side to build another team capable of challenging for the title both at home and in Europe.

Commenting on these young players extending their contracts with the club, Conor O’Shea, the Director of Rugby of Harlequins FC stated that they are obviously delighted that the players have committed their futures to the club and they will hopefully develop into world beaters for the club.
They all want to win major trophies and if they manage to win those trophies, they will go a long way to managing to reach their personal aims as well.

Harlequins FC back row player Chris Robshaw is looking forward to leading England to glory in the Six Nations Championships after being appointed as the captain once again by England head coach Stuart Lancaster.

Robshaw has easily been the most consistent player under Stuart Lancaster since the former Leeds Carnegie head coach took charge of the national team following their disastrous campaign in the 2011 Rugby World Cup where they were eliminated in the quarter final stages by France and the Harlequins FC open side was the overwhelming favorite to be named as the skipper once again the England team tries to recapture the Six Nations Championship title for the first time in three years.

They had one of the best autumn internationals at Twickenham Stoop last year, beating Australia as well as Argentina before suffering a narrow defeat to world champions New Zealand and those performances did their confidence a world of good.

England open their quest to reclaim the Six Nations Championship with a tricky match away to France and Robshaw has expressed his gratitude for Lancaster keeping his faith in him once again and is relishing the challenge that lies ahead.

He stated that Lancaster rang him up at his home and as with every decision he takes, he asked him before announcing it and as always, it will be a privilege to lead England.

Robshaw went on to add that to be the leader of one’s national team is an honor in itself and he is fortunate enough to have a group of players and leaders to help make his task easier, just like things are done at Harlequins FC.

However, Robshaw will have to cope without the presence of Nick Easter who has been overlooked once again by Lancaster in spite of his good run of form.

Conor O’Shea, the Director of Rugby of the Aviva Premiership Rugby Football Union club Harlequins FC is not satisfied despite his team running out victorious in their Premiership encounter against Gloucester Rugby this weekend.

The London club put in a decent performance as they ran out 27-19 winners against the struggling Gloucester Rugby side but the team boss was not buying into that performance as the 2012 winners failed to pick up a bonus point for their efforts.

Gloucester Rugby lost three big name players, Tom Savage, Jimmy Cowan and Martyn Thomas to the sin bin but it was the absence of Cowan that proved to be most costly for them as the Quins went on to score a massive 14 points while he was off the pitch and this run effectively swung the game in their favor.

And speaking about the team’s performance in the post match press conference, O’Shea stated that the Harlequins FC players let go of the momentum during the game, when they were on top of the opposition and in total control. He admitted that he doesn’t understand why the team took its foot off the gas when they were in such a position.

Quins scored three great tries through Luke Wallace, Danny Care and Nick Easter and looked to have secured that important bonus point when Tom Williams crossed the line but it was ruled out after television replays.

And O’Shea admitted that no matter how much he looks at the replays, he will not quite understand how the decision went against them. The Harlequins FC also mentioned that they want the referees to take their time and come to the right decisions because a point lost at any point in the season could amount to a lot at the business end of the season.