Harlequins star Robson relishing his team’s European adventure
Harlequins lock George Robson says domestic form will count for nothing when they kick off their European campaign against unpredictable French flair on Friday.
Quins, who sit seventh in the Premiership after a mixed start, open the European Rugby Champions Cup against a Castres side that have laboured through the opening weeks of their season.
Castres, last year’s Top 14 runner-up, are languishing third from bottom in France’s top flight this term with just three wins from nine games.
And Robson is well versed in the unpredictable nature of French opposition in Europe’s elite competition.
“From my experience you can watch them all year and they defend a certain way then come into Europe and they are crazy French and change their minds to do something completely different.”
George Robson
“They might look like they are not doing too well, but then they can turn up at the Stoop all guns blazing,” Robson told West London Sport.
“That is something we are used to happening, particularly with French teams.
“From my experience you can watch them all year and they defend a certain way then come into Europe and they are crazy French and change their minds to do something completely different.
“You can never get too caught up on that side of things – you have to concentrate on yourself and the performance level of the team as much as you possibly can.”
Despite Quins’ stuttered start heading into Europe, their record of three wins from six games mirrors last season’s early fortunes.
They eventually finished fourth in the table in 2013-14, losing only four Premiership matches after November.
One parallel that Quins will be looking to avoid is opening their Continental campaign with defeat at home, having last year gone down to Welsh side Scarlets.
However, they recovered from a slow start in the competition to finish second in their group, securing a place in the second-tier Challenge Cup where they eventually reached the semi-final.
“European competition is something I relish,” Robson said.
“It didn’t go too well for us last year. And while I’ve had good time in Europe, having won the Challenge Cup, we want to push on and try to win at the highest level in Europe.
“A good start gives you a massive chance of doing that.”
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