Prop seeks Quins improvement

Harlequins prop Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook is confident his side will improve upon their strong performance against Wigan at the weekend with victory over Salford on Friday night.

Harlequins lost 36-12 to Wigan last Saturday but gave the current engage Super League leaders a real run for their money in what was a high tempo and lively match.

“There were a few lapses of concentration during the match with Wigan that cost us. But they are top of the league and we held them for quite a while; we’ll draw positives from that and believe that we can do better against Salford at the Willows.”

In the season’s reverse fixture at the Stoop, Salford trailed for the majority of the match before two tries in the final ten minutes secured victory against an injury ravaged Quins side.

McCarthy Scarsbrook says he does not fear a repeat performance.

“Our match against Salford at the Stoop was one of the most disappointing results of the season; we didn’t turn up that day. But we are a different team from the one that played that day and have matured since then. We need to get wins quickly so that we can get into the playoffs.

However he insists revenge is not the top priority.

“All we’ll be thinking about is winning. If we climb to eighth in the table then anything can happen.”

Elsewhere, there is good news for David Howell whose collar bone injury is not as bad as first feared. The Australian centre picked up a knock during the match against Wigan and will be out for the next 2-3 weeks whereas it was initially thought he could miss the rest of the season.