Nick Easter headed to the England duty after helping Quins win in their last match. There they will play London Wasps, one of their oldest rivals whom they meet in the LV= Cup this Saturday in the unlikely surroundings of Abu Dhabi. Given that they have a win and a draw against Wasps in the Premiership this season, they will go into a home quarter-final with confidence, though the prize for the winner is a semi-final in either Brive or Munster.

But the No 8’s curiosity stems from a desire to discover which additional back-row forwards Martin Johnson, England’s manager, will add to his squad and whether he will lead the side against Wales in Cardiff on 4 February, the opening day of the Six Nations Championship.