Saracens better equipped than Harlequins to lord it on Wembley's grand stage They had played 10, won 10 up until that point with youth, pace, nerve and players such as Joe Marler, George Robson, Nick Evans and Mike Brown in brilliant form. But that was then. This is now. You get plaudits, praise, headlines and international selection in December, you just have to remember that you do not get any silverware then. What you hope is that you learn the grit to survive the tight end of the season, when the teams just below you start coming with a charge. Slip up and Leicester, Northampton and Exeter will be only too happy to kick you exactly where it hurts. Suddenly you could be looking at an away semi-final and no one wants to be heading to Welford Road for that. I said earlier in the season that I felt the Christmas match at Twickenham would be a pre-run of the Grand Final in May. I still think that. The only difference is that I am just not quite as sure as I was back then. A number of issues have surfaced. Saracens are not perfect at personal discipline and they have conceded some daft penalties at times. If you can get their driving maul to deck quickly from line-outs and not give them the breakout options then their back line can stutter. They can really play on the front foot but they are not a team who pass their way out of trouble. And most importantly, although they stress it is not a dictatorship, when they lose discipline with their game plan they look a bit confused and unable to react quickly. What is encouraging is that they rarely deviate. They have a cracking set piece. When they build their platform on it they squeeze opponents" space. In the middle of their front five they have a genius in Schalk Brits. They have lost a couple of options in the back row through injuries to Andy Saull and Jacques Burger and yet they still have physicality and skill. There is class at No8, where Ernst Joubert has so much time and much composure. Neil de Kock is the go-to guy at nine and Charlie Hodgson plays as well as anyone off the front foot. They rest Brad Barritt today, so Owen Farrell, who was rested last week, is joined by Chris Myles in the centre. Are you starting to get my thread here? They have a squad, with players who can step in and do a great job in key positions. Harlequins, meanwhile, have lost only three out of 18 matches this season. There is a but, however, and it is a big one. In the last four games their points difference is only plus four. They needed a last-minute kick to snatch a draw in Newcastle, toppled Worcester at home with one heck of a comeback, and beat Bath with only one try in the sort of glorious conditions in which they mangled teams in September. The defeat at Gloucester at the end of February was a big lesson and injuries have hurt their midfield from before Christmas. Jordan Turner-Hall and George Lowe are back in tandem in the centre and look like they are forcing it. Brown has been away on England duty. Marler has grown his hair and it is having the reverse Samson effect. Robson must have been devastated to have been excluded from England's Elite Player Squad and his confidence has taken a knock. Nick Easter has also been dropped from the EPS. Danny Care is having a torrid time. All of these issues have added up and have subtracted from their ability to play and make the passes that they were pulling off so easily earlier in the season. A crucial factor has been Nick Evans, who just has not been his normal regal self at stand-off. The scything breaks from static ball have dried up, the counter attacks have vanished, the goal kicks have slipped left or pushed right. It is not looking good for Harlequins and yet the class still lurks, the memories of glory not long ago just need to be tapped. Saracens will turn up at Wembley and be their uber-efficient selves. That might well be enough to shade it.