Manager Chris Kelly was looking for a fiercely competitive game. "There was good team spirit even though we were a bit uncoordinated but man for man we were holding our own."

The first 20 minutes was mainly a kicking game with both sides suffering from handling errors. Quins kept Lensbury in their own half and the persistence paid off with a solid drive to the line pushing Ian Langman over to score the first try. A missed penalty by Brad Westcott and a disallowed try by Henry Quinlan following an alleged forward pass, meant the score stayed 0 - 5 at the break.

After a scrappy start to the second half, Quins stopped two major assaults on the line before Lensbury emulated Quins with a pushover try of their own. Two more tries went Lensbury's way before another try was disallowed for Phillipe Au-Sun again for forward passing just before the final whistle. The final score was 17 - 5.

Despite some unlucky decisions, Coach Geoff Ashby was pleased with the opportunity to try new players and ease injured players back into competition.

"All the new boys came through strongly", he said. "The break from playing has really shown in our match fitness and handling errors - Lensbury kept their foot on the gas which was the ideal preparation for our competition games."

Manager Chris Kelly agreed. "With our new recruits, and more of our regulars back from injury, our squad will be quite strong with reasonable depth and should see us through a satisfactory conclusion to the season. "

The Quins were due to meet Sudbury and London Springboks two weeks running but both times Springboks cried off due to a flooded pitch and an inability to field a side. Next week the 1st team meet Old Abbotstonians for the first time in the Herts/Middlesex 3 South league on the College ground at the Stoop, before their next scheduled meeting with the Springboks.

1st team squad:
Andy Robinson, Benn Richards, Andrew Lawrence, Brad Westcott, Lucian Roberts, Ian Langman, Billy Katiyo, Kwasi Appah, Phillipe Au-Sun, Brandon van der Westhuizen, Matthew Pead, Lloyd Chivandire, Rocky Aldwinckle, Henry Quinlan, Victor Mubaira, Daniel Camacho, James Williams, Stuart Houghton

Socially Speaking ...

Welcome back to prop Lucian Roberts, who returns after a 4 month jolly to The States. Andrew Robinson returned this weekend after his globe-trotting experiences to Captain the 1st Team. Our thanks go to Matt Stevens who took over the captaincy in his absence - and according to Kelly did an admirable job before falling to the curse of injury.

This week the bars will be a tad emptier and training slightly quieter with the absence of many Amateurs who are heading to the UAE for the Dubai Sevens.
Good luck to Brad Westcott, Lucian Roberts, Rocky Aldwinckle and Henry Quinlan playing for the Balliol 'Babyoil' Buccaneers, whilst flying the flag for the Harlequin Gents are Chris Kelly, Malcolm Wall, Tim Bell, Mike Pudner and Jon Fairweather.

Don't just sit there. Get involved !
Want to know what it's like to pull on a Harlequin jersey and take to the field ? New players are always welcome to join the Amateurs and be part of over 125 years of rugby tradition. If you're interested in playing - no matter what your level - or can offer support or sponsorship, we would love to hear from you. Call Frank Cottrell on 07747 786288.

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