It has been a tough start for Harlequins this season in both the Aviva Premiership and  Heineken cup; with the team sitting seventh in the league followed by opening defeats to Scarlets at the Stoop and Clermont across the shores yesterday in the Heineken Cup.

Harlequins have found themselves in a tough pool for the early stages of the Heineken Cup. Scarlets are a strong side from the pro 12, Clermont haven’t lost at home in the competition for six years and Racing Metro is always a tough test for any team.  so it will need some good performances to make it out of the pool. The team did come home from France with a losing bonus point yesterday and with Metro and Saracens drawing, hopes of progressing from the pool has been reignited.

The Clermont game was both extremely tough and intimidating as the home fans roared their side to victory. For the travelling fans, they may have feared an obliteration was on the cards especially has Clermont scored three early tries.

However a hearty second half performance from Harlequins made it an exciting watch towards the end. Tom Williams scored a try and Nick Evans scored an important drop kick along with a  penalty and conversion to secure the bonus point for the team.  Ben Botica had got Harlequins off and running earlier in the match with their opening points from a penalty.

The game finished 23-16, a promising result for Harlequins who now face a double header against Racing Metro in December in an attempt to push for the top two places in the pool.

The league performances haven’t been the best either. Opening defeats to Northampton and Saracens were disappointing for the 2012 champions. They have started to pick up some sort of form in the last couple of matches but the results need to remain positive and a good string of wins is required for them to push for the championship.

I do believe Harlequins are still a team highly capable to win the Premiership with the likes of England internationals Joe Marler and Chris Robshaw in their side. The Stoop will need to become a fortress in the winter months for the team to sustain their chances of both moving up the league table and advances to the latter stages of the Heineken Cup.

Come on lads…