Six years ago, Harlequins were a joy to watch on the way to the 2020-21 Premiership title. They would chuck the ball around under the improvisational guiding hand of fly-half Marcus Smith and his power-carrying outlet valve Alex Dombrandt. Together their brilliance led to England call-ups and no short measure of national fame.

The creativity they showed in those Covid years came from a solid base provided by Joe Marler and Wilco Louw in the scrum. Danny Care was a guiding hand at scrum-half but one who wanted to be part of the fun and Andre Esterhuizen in the centres who could bend any defensive line. Unfortunately for Quins, all are now gone. 

Quins’ style has disappeared along with them. When they won the title they would attack from anywhere if there was even the suggestion of a weakness in the opposition’s defence. Only Bristol Bears, an outlier in world rugby let alone the Prem, offloaded more that season. But now they are floundering; a shapeless styleless entity drifting at the foot of the table.

They started this season positively – until just before half-time in the opening match, when the Bath fly-half Santiago Carreras plonked his foot in the way of a Tyrone Green pass and once the fell back to earth, carried it the length of the field.

Then in their second fixture they showed no fight, resilience, or coherence in a 48-0 loss to Gloucester; who scrapped with them at the foot of the table last year.

Part of the reason for Quins falling so far behind the rest is because rugby has shifted. Back when Quins won the title, 81 per cent of points came from tries and conversions, now that is 97 per cent. Teams are eschewing the kick at goal in favour of sticking it in the corner and going for the try.

We can follow that thread back from the lineout close to the line, where points seem like they will inevitably follow, to the less high-risk middle of the pitch. Concede a penalty here and it gets kicked to the corner inside the opposition 22. This is the pipeline of tries and it’s one that Quins haven’t maintained.

Last season, Quins gave away the second most scrum penalties and had the worst lineout success. They have no foothold in the middle of the pitch. On Saturday in the dismal 48-0 loss to Gloucester  that led to two blink-and-you’ll-miss-them 22-entries which ended with knock-ons as soon as Quins crossed the 22. The worst return in two seasons.

Despite that set-piece frailty, their big money signing is full-back George Furbank. Furbank is an excellent player, but he is a luxury – and doesn’t solve their problem.

Gloucester, who suffered a similarly dismal 2025-26, identified that their issue was the forwards and they responded by chucking cash at Dewi Lake (hooker), Jac Morgan (flanker), and Jean Kleyn (lock).

All three have started well and Gloucester are two wins from two. Newcastle’s issues were numerous and they spent this off-season using Red Bull’s money to build depth. They’ve avoided big name signings in favour of pulling every position up. They are still yet to bag a win but two bonus points suggests they’re much improved.

Sale Sharks were also cut adrift from the top half of the table last year but they have gone down the experience route with Courtney Lawes, Tomas Francis, Nicky Smith, and Alex Lozowski. They will face Quins on Sunday.

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This decline has not been quick for Quins. They have predictably listed into this lowly position by not replacing experienced talent and just expecting Smith to unlock opponents as his supporting cast were dismantled. Then they let an off-season of opportunity slip by while their rivals restocked. Thank goodness for a ring-fenced Prem, hey?