Quins Open with Try Fest

After a long eighteen months, league rugby returned to a blisteringly hot Surrey, as the Quins travelled down to Haselmere to start life in Surrey 4 following the move to our new clubhouse in Hampton Wick. The Quins started tentatively, figuring out the new opposition, whilst also settling into the rhythm and gameplan put in place at training.
The first turning point in the game, came from a midfield penalty where inside centre George Jaques cannoned the ball out to the opposition 5m to set up an attacking set piece opportunity for the forwards. Putting hours of training into practice, the Quins opted for the driving maul, which steered by debutant Tommy Darcy, powered over for the first try of the game. This dominance from the pack would set the tone for rest of the match. The Quins pack seemed to spend most of their time scrummaging in this matchup, however this was no cause for concern as veteran loosehead Dave Love continued to outmanoeuvre his opposite man, whilst being driven on by the rest of the supporting cast.
The set piece remained the starting point for many of the Quins attacking opportunities, with debutant scrum half Harry Brewer making the most of this, picking from the base of a midfield scrum and sprinting to the try line before the front row had even stood up. The backs enjoyed this clean ball for the rest of the match, with Tom Rose (debutant), Jimmy Lynch and Callum Savill (debutant) all dotting over the white line from well executed back line moves.
Haselmere started to tire towards the end of the first half giving away penalties close to their line which allowed Harry Brewer to take the quick tap and unleash debutant fullback Tom Rose, who crashed over for his first try in the quarters. With the half ending early due to an injured opposition player (we hope he is okay), the Quins made some substitutions, most notably stalwart Sean Gorman, who would come on with fire in his belly, looking to make an instant impact in a crowded back row room. He did just that, with strong carries from the get-go in the second half putting the Quins on the attacking front foot. Gorman’s support running was also rewarded with the gift of a pass over the try line from Brewer, who was looking to avoid the jug avoidance rule. (For which he was later punished).
The second half continued in much the same way as the first, with scrums being taken against the head and penalties being won, allowing the back line to show their pace with Jaques and Rose crossing the line for the 1st and 2nd tries respectively. Stand in Fly Half James Summersett was not to be outdone by the rest of his backline, as he made his way over for a score after receiving a pass from another quick tap penalty. However, it wasn’t just the backs that were benefitting from the tap go and penalties, after and infringement by Haslemere at a Quins driving maul, brewer took the tap and passed to the one-man wrecking ball Chris Addis who rammed over for another five points.
The Quins finished the game looking to keep Haselmere off the scoreboard and despite being camped on their own line, after several silly penalties, did just that, with Love being handed the ball by the opposition. The kickoff the pitch from Brewer would confirm the result and the first win for the Quins in Surrey 4.

MOM – Sean Gorman, Coming off the bench to prove a point with huge carries, lots of meters made and class support running.
DOD – James Summersett, After absolutely sending a kick out into touch and clearing our lines, he looked behind him to see that he was actually not inside his 22m and had given Haselmere a lineout in good territory.