2020-21 Premiership Rugby – Harlequins vs London Irish Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Harlequins vs London Irish taking place? Sunday 10th January, 2021 – 15:00 (UK)
Where is Harlequins vs London Irish taking place? Twickenham Stoop, London
Where can I get tickets for Harlequins vs London Irish? Check official club websites for information about purchasing tickets
What television channel is Harlequins vs London Irish on? BT Sport have the rights to televise Gallagher Premiership matches so it is worth checking their schedule
Where can I stream Harlequins vs London Irish? If televised on BT Sport, then subscribers will be able to stream the match live via the BT Sport website & app
THE TEAM NEWS
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 James Lang, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Scott Steele, 8 Alex Dombrandt (c), 7 Will Evans, 6 Tom Lawday, 5 Glen Young, 4 Matt Symons, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Elia Elia, 17 Jordan Els, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 Hugh Tizard, 20 Archie White, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Ben Tapuai, 23 Aaron Morris
London Irish: 15 Tom Parton, 14 James Stokes, 13 Curtis Rona, 12 Theo Brophy Clews, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Ben Meehan, 8 Albert Tuisue, 7 Blair Cowan, 6 Matt Rogerson (c), 5 Steve Mafi, 4 Andrei Mahu, 3 Ollie Hoskins, 2 Motu Matu’u, 1 Harry Elrington
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Will Goodrick-Clarke, 18 Luke Green, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Ben Donnell 21 Seán O’Brien, 22 Nick Phipps, 23 Billy Meakes
THE PREDICTION
Both these sides will feel aggrieved after covid-19 forced them to pull out of their last fixtures, with Harlequins handing a default win to Worcester and London Irish handing theirs to Northampton. It is worth holding fire on this match until it is confirmed to take place this Sunday but the cancellation of Northampton vs Leicester this week does not bode well for its chances. This might also be the match that throws light on the cancellation system of awarding default wins, namely, who gets the points if both teams cannot field a playing squad? If the match does go ahead, however, Quins will be expecting to win at home against Irish but neither side is in the best of shape right now and the match, and scoreline, could suffer as a result. Harlequins to win by at least a try, covering -8, looks a decent option here.