They demolished St. Nicks Old Boys by running in ten tries. It was an ironic way of repaying St. Nicks who had overturned Quins’ nearest rivals Old Abbotstonians to set up their opportunity to top the league by virtue of a superior difference in points scored. 

The favourable elements benefited Quins, the dry conditions and breeze allowing them to capitalise on their consistently successful strategy of using wide ball and allowing their strike runners to enjoy a field day against poor back line defence.

It was apparent from the start that Quins meant to settle matters by half time by running in two tries in the right hand corner to put the team 10-0 up within the first 10 minutes, scored firstly by No. 8 Matt Stevens, playing his last game for the Amateurs, and then through flanker Phil Thompson. In both cases, the ball passed through most of the players’ hands as a true ‘team try’.

Prop Andy Lawrence was carried off after 30 minutes with a pulled hamstring and was replaced by Cooper at loose head. 

Quins’ main strike runners then took up the scoring as firstly Adam Wallace on the right wing ran in a try converted by skipper Ross Webster, and then left wing Matt Williams crossed the line for two further converted tries to see Quins comfortably ahead by 29 points without reply at the half-time whistle.

The opening of the second half was a repeat of the first with the Amateurs adding to the scoreboard within three minutes of the restart with another converted try by Ben Wigley who was starting to carve holes through the centre of the opposition defence. 

After Luke Senior scored the Amateurs’ seventh try to complete a try by each member of the back row, converted by Webster, St. Nicks scored a conciliatiory try before Matt Williams completed his own personal hat-trick of tries, again converted by Webster, to notch up 50 points for Quins. 

Quins continued to pummel the St. Nicks line and with the opposition defence stretched to the limit, they had to resort to deliberately loitering offside to thwart another run into the corner which resulted in a penalty try awarded under the posts and a sin-binning. 

Farrant replaced Senior, and Fretwell came on for Wallace for the closing fifteen minutes, and the relentless attack from Quins never diminished. Webster punished the St. Nicks full back with some very probing kicks and high balls that caused him no end of trouble all afternoon.

The piece de resistance that firmly sealed Quins Amateurs’ win was the final try scored by Wigley, made by full back Phil Ah-Sun who caught a kick in his own 22m area and ran the length of the pitch weaving past tacklers to offload to Wigley ten metres out from the line. It was a piece of pure rugby brilliance that epitomised the quality of rugby played by the Amateurs all season. The final score of 64-5 means that Quins notched up a total of 503 points scored against 84 conceded for the season in the league.

It’s a great end to a magnificent season for us. We set out froom the beginning with the aim to win the league and to have done so with such an excellent display of rugby fills me with great confidence for our arrival in Division 1, particularly as we have already given good account this season in our cup games against next year’s opposition.

Harlequin Amateurs:
1. Lawrence, 2. Camacho, 3. Roberts, 4. Dewar, 5. Curry, 6. Senior, 7. Thompson, 8. Stevens (Vice capt.), 9. Wigginton, 10. Webster (Capt.), 11. Williams, 12. Wigley, 13. Birbeck, 14. Wallace, 15. Ah-Sun, 16. Cooper, 17. Farrant, 18. Fretwell
Harlequins scorers:
Tries: Williams(3), Wigley(2), Stevens, Thompson, Wallace, Senior, Pen. Try.
Conversions: Webster(7)

 Herts/Middlesex 2 South

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