Chris Robshaw will be hoping his 250th Harlequins appearance can end with a smile as his side prepare for a festive feast of Premiership rugby.

A club stalwart, Robshaw has been in south west London for 12 years but celebrations will count for nothing if his side don’t do the business against Newcastle Falcons.

Quins are perennial strugglers on the road and a trip to Kingston Park – a ground they have only been victorious at once this decade – set to do them no favours.

But with the two sides locked at five wins and 24 points each, director of rugby John Kingston knows how important a win could be in their bid for the Premiership’s top six.

READ MORE: Robshaw and Care miss out against Ulster

“Newcastle have had a good season to date with some notable victories in the Aviva Premiership,” he said.

"We have three huge league matches over the holiday period and are determined to put ourselves into a strong position for later in the season.”

A home clash with Northampton Saints and a visit to Sale Sharks represent Quins’ next two games, matches they’ll be eyeing up as wins if they want Champions Cup rugby to be on their agenda next season.

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But in the immediate future, Robshaw is one of seven changes to the side which lost out to Ulster in Europe, with Mike Brown – one of only two players to have more Harlequins caps than the former England captain, the other being Nick Easter – coming in at full back.

Tim Visser and Jono Kitto also come into the backs while Joe Marler, Ben Glynn and James Chisholm find themselves in the starting XV.