Harlequins can win Treble after LV= Cup victory, says Will Greenwood

Quins bested their Premiership rivals 32-14 at Worcester's Sixways Stadium on Sunday to win their sixth final on the spin, and will now be hopeful of retaining their Premiership crown, snaring the Heineken Cup and recording an unprecedented Treble.

Sky Sports pundit Greenwood reckons the Stoop side will find it tough to pluck three pieces of silverware this term, but says Quins' squad depth, as well as the strong leadership of Director of Rugby Conor O'Shea, will give them a fighting chance.

"O'Shea has instilled some strong virtues on which they build the club."
Will Greenwood

"Quins now have nine weeks to do something special; they have one trophy in the bank and two to go for, so what a rugby club to be at at the moment," said the Rugby Club regular.

"The fixtures are tough - they have Saracens coming up in the Premiership and if they get past Munster in the Heineken Cup they may have to face Clermont - but they can (win the Treble); they have last year's Premiership win in the memory bank and they have depth.

"O'Shea has instilled some strong virtues on which they build the club. Players can come and slot in seamlessly and they just want to play with ball in hand and don't worry about exit strategies, they are just looking for offload after offload.

"Sixteen of the 23 men in the squad against Sale came through the academy which gives them an English core and I think every other club would aspire to be at that level."

Zest

Former Wales wing Ieuan Evans - whose nation kept hold of their Six Nations crown on Saturday with a 30-3 triumph against England - says Quins' victory should spur the Londoners on to even greater feats.

But he says the courage shown by beaten finalists Sale, who sit second bottom in the Premiership and two points ahead of basement boys London Welsh, should bode well for their battle to avoid relegation from the top flight.

"There was plenty of energy and pace from both teams but Quins' attacking intent was the difference; they played with quality and zest and were clinical and took their chances," said Evans

"I like their philosophy and ambition and that culture is deeply ingrained in the club, and this trophy will act as a foundation and help them garner more success."

On Sale, the 2006 Premiership champions, Evans added: "The Sharks will benefit from this because they showed a lot of character and avoided what could have been a horror score.

"They will be concerned that they didn't make the most of scoring opportunities and lost their shape far too easily, but they showed the commitment that they are going need to secure Premiership survival."