After the disappointment of an abandoned game, Quins Ams welcomed Egham for the first time in seven years. And in a nod to history, the game was played at our old stomping ground – St. Mary’s Uni.

Once again, a completely different team took to the pitch and it is testament to each of them that they did so. Boys coming out of retirement or trekking back from uni to play speaks volumes about the unity with the group. Having lost a couple to medium-term injuries against Mitcham, we needed those guys to step in.

As ever, with a scratch team the pre-match talk was about keeping the game simple, aggressive defence to prevent Egham to get into their patterns and not worrying if their better team understanding caused us problems.

And then the heavens opening just as the game started. It was classic November rugby weather: cold, wet, miserable and muddy.

As expected, Egham were pretty well drilled but Quins’ resolute defence did a sterling job of keeping them out. As we grew into the match, our own route to success also became clearer – send our big boys up the guts.

Time and again we made yards through the middle of Egham’s defence only to be brought down by their last defender. Time and again Egham would try a set play and hit a wall of quartered shirts.

Soon enough, Quins crossed the whitewash but were wary of Egham’s kicker. He clearly had a decent boot.

And then the incident.

After another bust through midfield, Quins worked the ball out to Adam on the left wing. He made ground before being brought down inside the Egham 22.

It looked like a fairly run-of-the-mill tackle but Adam was obviously in pain. A leg broken in three places and two bolts in his ankle mean he may not be available for a couple of weeks.

With no subs available, Quins played on with 14. But as the November conditions got wetter and colder, our simple gameplan was working. 5-3 became 12-3 by the break. Could we keep it going for another 40?

Unfortunately, not as the change of ends (coupled with some savvy referee management by Egham’s skipper) seemed to bring about a change in fortunes. With Quins repeatedly penalised for actions that had been allowed in the first half, Egham made their way back into the game.

Kick by kick the hauled Quins in as 12-3 became 12-6, 9, 12. Then for 90 seconds Quins 14-man defence switched off. In the same corner where Adam had been injured, the Egham 10 picked a line through 5 defenders and scored their first try: 12-17.

With light fading and less than 10 minutes left in the game, Quins tried to mount a comeback. Again and again we launched our carriers up the middle of the park until finally Egham found an answer – hit Chad square in the jaw.

The ensuing yellow card may have ensured that Egham finished the game with 14 men but with Chad forced to leave the field, Quins were down to 13. Try as we might, we couldn’t quite breach the defence again to find the winning score.

So, what can we take from this game?

The fact is that we played 50 minutes of that game a man down and very nearly beat a solid mid-table team. It’s clear we have a tight-knit core of players who will always fight for each other. And from that foundation, we can build.

Perhaps it was the crisp, autumnal day after the miserable weather we’d played in but on Sunday morning, I was fairly optimistic and focusing on the positives.

'Cause nothing lasts forever, even cold November rain