Pain in the rain

One of the features of being in the Herts/Middx league is that we are right at the southern tip of the region. As a result, there are times when our away games involve a journey round the M25 to Hertfordshire or North London.

One of the features of playing rugby is that it’s a winter sport. As a result, there are times when we play our games in cold, wet conditions.

One of the features of being the amateur arm of a pro club is that the other London premiership clubs also have amateur teams. As a result, there are times when we play games which involve a little extra spice.

On Saturday, we had the perfect storm of all three as we took the 90 minute journey in freezing drizzle to play Sarries Amateurs – a team flying high at the top of the league.

Our preparation wasn’t helped when two players had to withdraw at the last moment – leaving us with just 13 players. Despite this setback (and maybe because of it) this was a game where Quins did themselves proud.

Playing with only seven forwards, we expected a tough examination in the scrum. Instead, Quins were able to push Sarries off their put in. This set the tone for the game as we drove them back in the majority of set pieces. In fact this was a game where every Quins player gave 100% for the entire 80 minutes.

From Paul’s fantastic cover tackle in the corner to deny a certain try to George’s sweetly struck drop goal to Gareth playing until half time having bust his AC joint after 10 minutes, this was a game where every Quins player stepped up.

Most tellingly, although Sarries ran in a number of tries (to be expected given their 2-man advantage), all except one were scored around us – first up tackles were made again and again.

Given the circumstances, this was a game played in the best spirit possible (by both teams). To give some perspective to our situation, we now have a week off from competitive rugby as Ickenham have been forced to withdraw from the league. By contrast, if we continue to show the spirit of this game, we will be fine this season.