Cardiff v Quins Fri 8pm

[fivepointer]

Cardiff: Amos; Lane, Lee-Lo, Halaholo, Adams; J Evans, T Williams; Carre, K Myhill, Arhip, Turnbull (capt), S Davies, Lewis-Hughes, Jenkins, Ratti.

Replacements: T Myhill, Domachowski, Lewis, Thornton, Boyde, L Williams, Priestland, B Thomas.

Harlequins: Green; Lynagh, Marchant, Northmore, Murley, Smith, Care; Marler, Walker, Collier, Symons, Lamb, Chisholm, Lawday, Dombrandt (capt).

Replacements: Riley, Botta, Kerrod, Tizard, Taulani, Stafford, Edwards, Jones.

[Raggs]

Could easily be that I'm missing stuff, but again, when the game isn't falling his way, Dombrandt doesn't seem that influential.

[Mikey Brown]

Well yeah, nobody has been particularly good.

But when he does stuff like that it’s because the game has put it on a plate for him. Any time he’s not doing that he’s ‘not able to make an impact’. He seems to be judged by a different set of standards.

That’s not to say he’d been particularly effective so far. Very poor game.

[FKAS]

I think Dombrandt gets pushed the way he does because he tends to look quite relaxed moving around the field, comes across as a bit almost lazy at times. Not helped by brain farts like that yellow card where he's just lies there and doesn't make any effort to try and look not guilty. When he turns it on though he's explosive for a big man. In games where he doesn't get so many explosive touches his relaxed demeanor tends to paint him in the negative light but he gets the touches to show the explosive side then that becomes the prevailing view.

For me I'd like him to be a bit more savvy and maybe do a smidge more of the donkey work if he wants to be the England 8. He's young enough he could easily add those things to his game.

[Mikey Brown]

Who the fuck is this ref?

[Mikey Brown]

Wow. What a mess. I don’t know how this keeps happening.

[Puja]

Quins get away with a very disjointed performance to win that. At times, it looked like they'd only met in the carpark beforehand.

Marcus Smith really is something special though, isn't he?

Puja

[FKAS]

Who the fuck is this ref?

Dunno but I like him. He had a good game bar the Lane try.

[Mikey Brown]

Aside from the rules changing every 5 minutes yeah.

[fivepointer]

Quins got away with that. They were mostly terrible. Dont think i can recall Northmore making that number of errors in a game, the back row were anonymous, likewise the back 3 (Green could do with a break) and Care had one of those games that leave you exasperated. Amid the dross Marcus Smith basically won the game by himself. That and a dominant scrum so the front row get a pass mark too.

[Oakboy]

Only dipped in and out but agree with the praise for Smith. I so wish I trusted Jones to make the best of him for England. He could be an all-time great and when was the last time we could say that about a FH? JW was nearly two decades ago! I just hope he gets the 10 shirt through to the RWC without Farrell at 12. It could be time to have Simmonds on the bench as 'steady' back-up and go for a new era without the two Fs.

[Magic_sponge]

One of those games, yet again, where I don't really know how Quinns managed to get the win. Most of the team weren't really firing.

It does make me very worried for when they're without their England contingent. With Esterhuizen they are so reliant on Smith's brilliance and a dominant scrum which you assume would be significantly less dominant without Marler. Take dombrandt and Marchant out too and it's really worrying.

I know all teams would obviously lose something when missing their internationals, but if seems more so for Quinns to me.

Northmore really coming along, even if not a great game yesterday.