South African Gary Botha has described the prospect of playing in the Heineken Cup final as “a dream come true”. Botha and his unsung Harlequins colleagues will move one step closer to making it reality if they beat Leinster at the Twickenham Stoop tomorrow.
It is probably fair to say Quins have surprised everyone — apart from themselves — in reaching the knockout stages for the first time since 1998.
But now they have reached the business end of European rugby’s blue riband club competition, Quins do not intend going quietly.
Domestic issues will temporarily be put to one side — Quins are currently second in the English Premiership — as they target another major scalp.
Stade Francais were toppled twice by the Londoners during their cruise through Pool Four and into the last eight as third seeds.
And Leinster, despite fielding a notable Irish Grand Slam contingent that includes Brian O’Driscoll and Jamie Heaslip, could also find it tough going, especially on a ground where Quins have lost only twice this season.
“The two wins over Stade Francais gave us character,” said former Springboks hooker Botha. “But we have to use that character and get stuck into tough games like the one this weekend.
“Leinster are a good team but we have to focus on ourselves. We know we are in for a tough match but, if we can play Quins’ style, then we can take this forward. The reason I decided to come to the UK to play my rugby was to play in the Heineken Cup.
“And it would be tremendous to reach a Heineken Cup final — a dream come true.”
Botha lines up in a Quins side bolstered by the return from injury of New Zealand out-half Nick Evans and skipper Will Skinner’s recovery after a stomach bug that meant he missed an impressive 19-3 away win against Bath last Saturday.
If Quins progress to the semi-finals, they are likely to find holders Munster waiting for them at Dublin’s Croke Park next month.
Munster start as clear favourites to defeat an Ospreys side that will arrive in Limerick without injured Wales stars Lee Byrne and Gavin Henson.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for Munster’s six Ireland Test forwards in action tomorrow will be to avoid falling foul of match referee Wayne Barnes.
Englishman Barnes penalised Ireland 17 times during their Six Nations title and Grand Slam-clinching victory over Wales three weeks ago — a statistic not lost on Munster prop Marcus Horan.
“We have spoken about the refereeing,” Horan said. “We were disappointed with the scrums against Wales. All we can do is analyse that game and learn from the mistakes we made. It is up to us to change our ways.
“I guess we didn’t adapt to the referee in that game against Wales. Wayne Barnes had an issue with the scrum dropping down below the hips and, if it collapsed, he was blaming us for it.
“The scrum is a good attacking platform for any team — a solid scrum is key for any back-line. We will be looking to upset the Ospreys scrum to try to give our defence a bit of an edge.”
In the second-tier European Challenge Cup, meanwhile, Premiership rivals
Saracens and Newcastle meet at Vicarage Road tomorrow, with the winners facing a
probable semi-final trip to Northampton.
