Morning:
8°c
I have a very clear message for those people knocking Harlequins because we have lost three Guinness Premiership matches in a row: write us off at your peril.
Yes, we did have problems in the summer, but no one is using that as an excuse and the bottom line is that we're not playing to our true potential. When we put that right — and we aim to do that at Newcastle tonight — we will prove that Quins are still one of the best teams in the Premiership.
I'm confident that will happen because we are working extremely hard and I want our supporters to be patient and our critics to know that if they do write us off then we aim to come back and bite them on the backside.
That first defeat by London Wasps was very difficult because we lost George Robson, our second row, after less than a minute when he was sent off. Losing at home against Leicester was a blow because we had a really good record at the Twickenham Stoop, but they were smarter and edged out the win. And last weekend, our defeat by Saracens was a real disappointment because for the first time this season we didn't play as well as we can.
We need to get the show on the road as soon as possible and everyone is aware of the looming Heineken Cup pool matches, starting in Cardiff in two weeks. With that in mind we need to generate momentum in the Premiership against the Falcons, and then Bath, and I am certain that will happen.
We have a great squad, boasting hugely-talented players, and winning at Newcastle is the first target.
It will be strange to arrive at Kingston Park and not have to face the boot of Jonny Wilkinson, who is now playing at Toulon, but they have assembled a new squad which has performed well so far this season.
We do need to put a marker down and doing that tonight would be a huge boost for the club and generate a lot of confidence as well as lift our fantastic fans, who have backed us up throughout the problems of the summer.
Of course it is different without Dean Richards as director of rugby because he is such a big character. While he wasn't involved in the day-to-day coaching, it was always positive to have him around, particularly on match days.
He is being missed, having helped individual players like myself to win international honours with his advice, but the three coaches now in charge of the squad — John Kingston, Colin Osborne and Tony Diprose — are continuing to do a great job and we have to move on.
Our thoughts are with Deano and we wish him well for the future, but this is a new era at the club and we need that first win under our belts. However, it's never easy under the lights on a Friday night at Newcastle.
Training has gone really well this week even though we have been forced to deal with the loss of centre Jordan Turner-Hall, who injured his shoulder against Sarries.
We found out yesterday he will be out for a few months. He shares a house with Danny Care, our scrum-half, and I am sure Danny will live up to his name and look after his mate. I think Jordan is pretty low maintenance, anyway.
He had a fantastic season for us last year and he is a loss because he brings real strength and physicality to the inside-centre position and while we will have to adapt our play as he is missing, we still have lots of talent in the back line.
I am operating at full-back at the moment because Mike Brown has been injured and Tom Williams is banned for four months and it's been a great experience. I rang up my mate Delon Armitage, who had an outstanding season at full-back for England but is now out with a shoulder injury, and told him to “watch his back” as I was now wearing the No15.
But seriously, I am happy to be doing a job for Quins while the other guys are not available and, in my mind, I am very much a wing who is helping out at full-back.
Playing in that position helps me get a greater appreciation of the roles of the back three players — the wings and full-back — and I am enjoying it and it has done me a favour.
