Prof’s Positives Week 31: Leeds

By The Prof
April 12 2003

So another loss on the road, but we came so very close this time and on the balance of it probably deserved the win although the score card will always show a loss.

The small but perfectly formed travelling support tried their hardest to cheer the team to victory and after a pretty poor first half from both sides Quins took a stranglehold on the game and had all the possession until the last ten minutes.

It is such a shame that RugbyBird couldn’t make it up to Headingley because Luger did what he is paid for – he opened his legs and showed his class, and in doing so scored what was probably the best solo try by a Quins’ player since Greenwood’s one away to Brive a couple of years ago.

The Quins defence was strong throughout until Luger was binned in one of those “you’re wearing a quartered shirt, you must be guilty” moments. Sadly the next Leeds attack led to them using their extra man to score out on the right.

The BVS conversion was successful and Quins were beaten by one point. So we got one point which made us a little safer but how good would a second away win have been? We’ll have to wait for Gloucester or Wasps to find out.

Given the views on this board a few weeks ago “we need points from all our home games, you can write off the away games…” to have got 7 points from the last three away games must be a positive, although getting 12 or more points wouldn’t have been impossible.

The team certainly seem to be playing better together, it is a shame that it couldn’t have happened like this right at the beginning of the season but a lot of the credit has to go to the new signings – Deane, Fulton and Jones.

Another thing to take from this game is the passion that the players showed, some people have said that the ‘stars’ of the team are more concerned about their international careers than about Quins but if you saw the way they were up in Leeds you wouldn’t believe that.

The supporters were devastated by the result but very proud of the team’s performance.

Elsewhere in the club the U21s beat their Worcester counterparts with scores from Tom Guest, Adrian Jarvis and Henry Barratt. The U21s player Tom MacCormick was selected for the Scotland 30 man squad for the U21s World Cup, let’s hope he comes through the selection process and ends up in the 26man squad.

The second team became the first team at any level to beat Gloucester at home albeit by a single point. Karl Rudzki, Luke Sherriff and James Hayter all scored tries with Slemen kicking well before being injured and being replaced by Adrian Jarvis who kicked the final conversion to secure the win.

Sadly the Ladies lost against table toppers Chesham and with one game left they need a win to be in with a chance of promotion in the probable restructuring of the leagues.

So all in all it was a pretty good week although we are not quite out of the relegation fight yet.

Oh yes, another positive was the gallon of beer we won in Leeds in the half time competition – it helped us subdue the disappointment.