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James Horwill puts Harlequins on red alert over yellow cards

Official warning: Horwill says Harlequins need to stay on the right side of the referee: Getty Images
Official warning: Horwill says Harlequins need to stay on the right side of the referee: Getty Images

Captain James Horwill has warned his Harlequins team-mates they must play with controlled aggression against Leicester on Saturday to avoid the yellow cards that are threatening to undermine their campaign.

Quins have picked up four yellow cards in three Premiership matches this season, with their win at Wasps on Sunday featuring an ugly confrontation between England and Lions team-mates Joe Marler and James Haskell.

While Haskell was sent to the sin-bin at the time, Quins’ prop Marler received, 24 hours later, an “off-the-field yellow” in the form of an official warning from the citing officer for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

Quins collected two yellow cards, for Demetri Catrakilis and Mike Brown, in their opening game defeat by London Irish, while Kyle Sinckler headed to the sin-bin in the win over Wasps.

Horwill, the former Australia skipper, said: “We need to make sure we do the right thing and stay on the right side of the referee.

“There are things we can control individually but as a group we still want to be as aggressive as we can and not step over the mark by getting on the wrong side of the referee.”

The clash between Quins’ tight-head Sinckler and Leicester’s loose prop Ellis Genge on Saturday promises to be an explosive encounter.

The pair could be key players in England’s 2019 World Cup squad and both have shown a willingness to make the game intensely physical and will relish the chance to show their ball-carrying power at the Twickenham Stoop.

Horwill said: “Leicester are a very physical side with big ball carriers.

“Winning the collisions is a big part of Premiership rugby and the teams who do that are performing well in the league.

“Kyle and Genge are similar players and do carry the ball a lot and want to break tackles.

“Genge has been delivering some big hand-offs in recent weeks, getting very physical in those wider attacking channels and we have to make sure our defence is right.”