Shock as Harlequins leave out their England stars

Harlequins have made the surprise decision to remove England internationals Ugo Monye, Nick Easter and Danny Care from the team to face Cardiff Blues in the opening round of the Heineken Cup tomorrow.

The unexpected move - Easter was talking about being ready to play against Cardiff despite having nine stitches in a head wound earlier this week - is to ensure Quins stick to the Elite Player Squad agreement for England players.

That states members of the EPS squad - all three Quins' players are in that group - must sit out one first-team match before the autumn internationals which take place next month.

While other affected clubs have chosen to rest their England men for Guinness Premiership games, Quins have opted to take three of their most important players out of the opening Heineken Cup round.

It appears the club, who were embroiled in the Bloodgate controversy following their quarter-final with Leinster last season, are gambling they can beat a struggling Cardiff side without key men. However, if they lose in Wales it will make progressing from their pool, which includes big-spending Toulouse, extremely unlikely.

Quins made an impact for the right reasons in the Cup last season, winning away and at home to Stade Francais who were expected to dominate the pool and the momentum generated by those victories helped the club to finish second place in the Premiership.