The Quins defence held out for twenty minutes, but then Hove mauled their way close to the try line and broke through the fringe defence. Just five minutes later, Hove’s second try came from a break down the wing against a scattered Quins defence.

Harlequins fought back with full-back, Kate Sinfield, dashing towards the line. Hove stole possession, but then knocked-on to give Quins the scrum. Vicky Gallagher picked up at number 8, but was held up just a metre from the line. Hove attacked back down the wing to score three points from a penalty awarded in front of the posts. Another strong Hove attack from the re-start, saw several missed tackles from Harlequins and another try for the home team.

The second half saw a much stronger performance, with Harlequins finally putting Hove under some pressure. Hove kicked themselves out of trouble, and a strong chase set up their final try. Quins now began to make better use of their own kicking game, and kept Hove in their own twenty-two for the last twenty minutes of the game. The final few minutes saw Quins drive agonisingly close to the line, but fail to make it over.

Whilst disappointed to come away with a loss, Harlequins can draw on the hard work in the scrums by the forwards, and the more creative running by the backs in the second half, as they prepare for their next league game, away to Wimbledon on the 10^th October.

Captain’s Comments

Hove’s forwards proved to be a real test for our pack, and with Quins giving away a considerable height and weight advantage, we needed to commit higher numbers at the breakdowns. 

We lacked cohesion as a team and will focus on this in training this week. When we did begin to work to our game plan in the second half, we fared considerably better. We came very close to scoring on a couple of occasions, which would have given us the lift we needed.

Whilst we saw some good individual work, we need to concentrate on better positioning in contact, and re-focus on our game plan. I do believe that we can come back from this defeat, and am confident that our league points will start to increase.

Vicky Gallagher
1^st XV Captain 

Want to Play Rugby for Harlequins?

Harlequin Ladies are always on the lookout for new players.  Whether an old-hand or a complete novice, we look forward to hearing from you.  The Harlequin Ladies train on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 7.30pm to 9pm on the training pitch behind the 1^st XV pitch at The Stoop and matches are played on Sunday.  For younger players, the U16 and U18 Academy Squads train on Thursday nights from 6.30pm till 7.30pm at the same venue.

Want to Get More Involved?

We are also on the lookout for new sponsors to continue our season and can offer your company or brand various sponsorship opportunities from Match to total Club Sponsor packages.  For more information, please contact Claire Melvin – Sponsorship & Fundraising Secretary at quinsladies@hotmail.com.

Come and Meet Us

The Ladies have a display board at every home game, so do come up and say hello. 

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