French won the first outing 17 - 0 however were subsequently docked 10 points from the league for fielding unregistered players in that game. Whilst Quins fought hard to stay in sight of French on that occasion, on Saturday they suffered from bad luck and a surfeit of injuries early on to again lose by 3 - 18.

Despite the loss, Quins are still currently holding onto second place in the league.

The first casualty to leave the field fifteen minutes into the game was Malcolm Wall, erstwhile Chairman of the Amateurs, with James Williams following just before half time. With the departure of Matt Pead, all 3 subs were called to action, while other injured players elected to stay on and finish the game.

Outside Centre Brad Westcott scored Quins only points early on with a penalty kick from the 10 metre line. French replied with a try after passing back and forth along our defensive line trying to find a gap, and repeated the deed shortly afterwards to lead 3 - 10 at half time.

At various times, both teams were down to 14 players following sin-bins. French extended their lead with a penalty kick before breaking through for their final try towards the end of the game. A tiring Quins were in need of a Ward Sister rather than a Ref. with the number of hospital passes being thrown as they never gave up and continued battling till the whistle blew.

"A lot of guys put their heart and soul into this game and made good tackles" said Kelly singling out Ed Sterck and Billy Katiyo. He also acknowledged that the early injuries disrupted the team play.

"Yes, I was disappointed with the result. We created enough chances but did not make that incisive cut into their defence. Man for man I thought we were as good a team with the exception of their number 8 Tim Beck who seriously outclassed everyone, including his own team mates, and begs the question that such a talented individual needs to play in such a lower league."
Next week the Amateurs meet Osterly at Brunel University, Borough Road Campus on Wood Lane with the kick-off at 14:15.

Sadly the Cavaliers also lost against Old Mid-Whitgiftian’s II - who are in London II league,- 27 - 22 in a closely fought match.

Disappointed captain Jarrod Smith believed the sides were evenly matched and contributed the loss in part to the team still in recovery from the Christmas break. "We were a bit rusty" he said. Try scorers for the Cavaliers were Owen Robertson with two, Gareth Martin and Julian Frew with one each. Aiden Heke made one conversion. Special praise went to Wanderers players James Hayden and Danny Dawson who made a guest appearance for the team. And despite being heckled for doing the most boring player of the day speech, Smith went on to award Robertson, Hayden and Chris Thompson points in the Cavaliers Player-of-the-Day ladder.
The Cavaliers play London Irish III next week at Sunbury.

1st team squad:
Andy Robinson, Benn Richards, Andrew Lawrence, Brad Westcott, Billy Katiyo, Kwasi Appah, Phillipe Ah-Sun, Matthew Pead, James Williams, Stuart Houghton, Colin Crowther, Ben Wigley, Tom Cooper, Mark Hillier, Malcolm Wall, Ed Sterck, Terry Newman, Russell Wigginton

Bookmark or share this story with:

• Digg
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon

SPORTNETWORK SPECIALS