Harlequins v Bath Rugby Sunday 16^th March 3pm

Current Form

·        Harlequins put in another good 80 minutes last Sunday before going down narrowly at London Wasps. They did collect a bonus point and stay in 6^th position in the league table, 8 points behind Bath and only 1 point from a play-off place.

·        Quins have played 8 matches at home this season, winning 6 and losing to Saracens and Leicester.

·        Bath beat Newcastle 22-11 in a mediocre game at the Rec last Saturday and are now 2^nd in the Guinness Premiership, 4 points behind Gloucester with a game in hand.

·        N.B. One for the diary. Last match of the regular season, Saturday 10^th May 2008, Gloucester v Bath at Kingsholm!

·        Bath have played 7 matches away from home this season, winning 4 and losing 3.

History

·        Harlequins and Bath have met 23 times in league rugby since 1995

·        Harlequins have won 9 and Bath 14.

·        Harlequins have won 7 of 11 played at the Twickenham Stoop.

·        In every one of the last 6 seasons Quins and Bath have won 1 match each against each other in the Guinness Premiership.

·        Bath beat Harlequins 25-10 at the Recreation Ground on 13^th October 2007. If they win on Sunday, it will be the first time they have completed a league double over Harlequins since season 1999/2000.

Trends and Trivia

·        Harlequins’ loss to London Wasps last Sunday was their first defeat in 4 matches in the Guinness Premiership.

·        Harlequins have scored more points at home this season, 223, than any other side in the Premiership.

·        Although, only Leeds have conceded more than the 194 points of Harlequins in home matches this season.

·        Strangely, Harlequins have conceded the fewest points in the Premiership away from home this season, 133.

·        Not sure what we’ll see in the opening quarter on Sunday. In this period of the match, Harlequins have conceded 43 points and Bath 44 points in their 15 matches this season, the fewest by any teams in the competition.

·        But, Bath have scored 103 points and Harlequins 93 points in the same period, the best and third best totals in the Premiership.

·        Harlequins have only had 24 penalties scored against them this season, the fewest in the league.

·        Chris Malone has scored 96 points for Harlequins this season and Adrian Jarvis 55. Simon Keogh, Steve So’oialo and Ugo Monye have all scored 4 tries.

·        Bath and London Wasps are now the only teams in the Premiership who have won their last 3 matches.

·        Only Sale have conceded fewer points than the 266 of Bath in the Guinness Premiership this season.

·        Bath have scored 133 points and 17 tries in the final quarter of their matches this season. No other team has scored 100 points.

·        Bath and Leicester have only conceded 12 tries away from home this season, the fewest in the Premiership.

·        Both the Bath and Harlequins forwards have scored 11 tries this season.

·        Bath have only conceded 5 tries to the forward pack of the opposition this season, the least in the division.

·        Incredibly, Bath have still only conceded 2 tries in the opening quarter of their 15 matches this season.