: Sun Feb 15, 2009 9:58 am  

There are actually three Welshmen in their squad:

Geraint Davies
Aled James
Ben Flowers

None of them played last night, but four out of the six Englishmen in the squad made the team sheet.

: Sun Feb 15, 2009 11:55 am  

The problem is Celtic and Quins have never developed naturally and why P & R is the right way. Celtic and Quins are not ready for SL but because they have been shoved in then they generally will struggle. Had Quins and Celtic been allowed to develop naturally and be promoted when THEY are ready with more local players and more support locally from fans and Sponsors then they would be in a better position and National league fans would be more accepting to them. I think its good that Celtic and Quins are in SL and why I think having 14 Northern teams is not good for the game as having 3 Non Northern clubs helps develop the game a little better and show we are not just a Northern Sport. But they clearly are in under the wrong circumstances and for me why Franchises are wrong.

: Sun Feb 15, 2009 1:14 pm  

Disagree totally about the Quins. they have been around in various guises, (Fulham and Broncos), for years. They have had ample time to develop and bring through youngsters.

: Sun Feb 15, 2009 1:20 pm  

But they have never stayed in one place to develop anything properly-

Craven Cottage, Fulham Tech Sports Ground, Barnet, Brentford, Charlton, Twickenham are some of the grounds they have had-and all spread all over London not in one part of London. Remember going to Hendon for a U21s game for Fax in 1999!
If they had always been in South London then they could have concentrated just on South London. But playing at various venues in and around London with no real set goal has seen them with no stability and no real fan base to build up as getting from Barnet or Charlton to Twickenham is a nightmare for example and very time consuming.

: Sun Feb 15, 2009 1:30 pm  

Tortured Soul wrote:

They have had ample time to develop and bring through youngsters.

I watched Harlequins Academy play Hull KR last year at the Stoop and their side composed entirely of London lads were more than a match for HKR. They also run an U18s and Youth and Junior rugby thrives and continues to grow apace in London.

They play in a superb stadium with excellent facilities and their only drawback is their crowds. If they can somehow attract another 3/4000 they would have everything in place.

: Sun Feb 15, 2009 4:29 pm  

Caliban wrote:

I watched Harlequins Academy play Hull KR last year at the Stoop and their side composed entirely of London lads were more than a match for HKR. They also run an U18s and Youth and Junior rugby thrives and continues to grow apace in London.

They play in a superb stadium with excellent facilities and their only drawback is their crowds. If they can somehow attract another 3/4000 they would have everything in place.

And provided a couple of "homegrown" lads in the England team in the pre-world cup warm up game at the Keepmoat.
They are doing well with their development in my opinion.