Tigers look to maul Quins at the Stoop

A ferocious clash is expected at the Twickenham Stoop on Saturday as two teams who have cultivated a fantastic rivalry, especially over the last few seasons. 

Defending champs Leicester have not started this season as well as they would have liked, given their fantastic form last during the 2022-23 campaign. Last week, they were struck down by Sale Sharks at Welford Road: 

Quins, meanwhile, enjoyed a bye. 

Harlequins team news 

Harlequins stalwart Joe Marler is in line to make his 250th appearance for Harlequins this Sunday as he leads out the Club in front of a sold out Stoop as Leicester Tigers travel to South West London. 

This Sunday’s fixture, live on BT Sport, 15:00 kick-off, also marks the return of Springbok centre Andre Esterhuizen. The five-times-capped South African centre returns to reclaim a starting berth at inside centre as he makes his 50th appearance in the Famous Quarters since arriving in 2020. 

Aside from Esterhuizen’s return Quins’ coaches have left an unchanged starting line-up to the side that claimed a dramatic 35-29 victory over Northampton Saints during Round Four. 

Returning from injury, hooker George Head will look to make his first matchday appearance since Round Three from amongst the Impact Players. The bench remains otherwise unchanged for Quins this week. 

Commenting, Head Coach Tabai Matson said: “First and foremost, a huge congratulations to Joe for his 250th and Andre for his 50th appearances this week. They are two monumentally physical players that have given everything to the Club from their first games in the jersey. 

“Leicester are the incumbent champions, so we’re looking forward to bouncing back to The Stoop after a week without a game. 

“They’ve lost two in a row and so we’re expecting a massive spring back from them this week so we have to be at our best. We’ve had a weekend off and we can’t use that as an excuse to start slow. 

Leicester Tigers team news 

Chris Ashton, Cameron Henderson, Tommy Reffell, Francois van Wyk and Ben Youngs return to Steve Borthwick's matchday squad for the trip to Harlequins on Sunday after missing last weekend’s match at Mattioli Woods Welford Road. 

Ashton, Reffell and Youngs are named to start, with Henderson and van Wyk included among the replacements. 

In his 100th Premiership appearance – and third for Leicester Tigers – Anthony Watson starts on the wing after featuring from the bench in Round 5.  

In his first start of the campaign at blindside flanker, Hanro Liebenberg leads the side with Dan Cole and Youngs named vice-captains.  

Julián Montoya and Jasper Wiese, who made their first appearance of the season last weekend, retain their places in the starting pack. 

Match insights: 

Harlequins 

• Led by the herculean efforts of Will Evans, Harlequins have won more turnovers so far this season than any other side (37). Evans has won a league-high 12 turnovers in just four appearances, as well as making a nuisance of himself in more defensive rucks than any other player (23). 
• Harlequins’ success rate off the tee is an impeccable 95%. Personally, Marcus Smith is yet to miss a kick this season. He is the only regular kicker, has attempted more than four kicks at goal, who can claim this. 
• When Quins last played, in round four, playmakers Danny Care and Marcus Smith were both in the top three for kicks from hand, making 14 and 11 respectively to steer their side to victory. 
• Cadan Murley has scored five tries in four matches so far this season. Not only is he Harlequins’ top points-scorer (25), he has also made the second-most metres in contact (36), beaten the joint-most defenders (11) and made the most clean breaks (seven) in the Quins squad. 

Leicester Tigers 

• The Tigers have missed more tackles this season than any other team in the league (109). 
• Leicester Tigers are the best team in the Premiership at retaining possession at the ruck, securing the ball at their attacking breakdowns 97% of the time. 
• Leicester Tigers lock George Martin has made more dominant tackle contacts so far this season than any other player, smashing oncoming attackers with nine of his 60 total tackles. This is partially due to his impressive tackle selection: he has made as many low tackles as any other player (37, =Will Evans), opting to hit players below the waist 62% of the time. 
• Harry Potter beat more defenders in round five than any other player (ten). 

Historical 

• Harlequins have won three of their last five matches against the Tigers, including when these sides last met in April. 
• Quins have won five of their last six at home.