Prof's Positives - week 3 - Leeds

By The Prof
September 19 2002

Right… let me see.. positives, positives… erm. Here I am in my study, quill in hand, vellum unrolled on the table before me trying to think of something to write but something is wrong. Of course, I need to close one eye and cover the other with my trusty rose tinted monocle.

So, was the first team game against Leeds really that bad – yes! I hear you shouting as one, but was it really, were there any positives to come out of it? With my unique vision I say yes.

Admittedly the amount of turnovers conceded were terrible and the score deplorable but what of the rest of it?

Both of our centres (Will and Big Bill) scored and both tries were well worked – especially Will’s which involved good ball retention, good hands, inventiveness and above all – points on the board! Bill’s was his first try in his first start for the first team and his first home game for the firsts too (good heavens I’m using the word ‘first’ more often than some people use the ‘T’ word!)

Not only were both tries good but both centres played well too, Will was seen crawling forward on the floor after being tackled (but not held), a sure sign of someone who is fired up. Bill has only just been with us a month and he played amazingly well given the short time he has had to learn the moves and fit in with the rest of the squad.

Our supposedly third choice scrum half, Scott Bemand, had a good game. His distribution was good, he worked well with Dippy and he harried and worked the fringes well. Diprose performed best of all the forwards showing his great ball skills a number of times.

Across the board the first up tackling was good, infinitely better than it was in our last home game against Gloucester.

Gollings had a pretty good game too with a number of sniping runs and some good defensive covering.

The news on the injury front is good, Codling and Fuga are back and ready to start against LI on Saturday and Duncombe will make his first appearance on the bench this season after recovering from a foot injury. Ace and Nathan seem to have recovered from their niggling injuries and will start fully fit. Finally Luger and Winters seem to be progressing well but both are still months away from returning but Vos is a week closer to playing for us.

Elsewhere in the club the U21s beat a strong Worcester side with players like Monye, Wilcocks, Horstmann and Williams (T) all playing well and showing what strength we have to come into the first team squad in years to come. The Amateurs and Wanderers both played well and defeated strong opposition. The Ladies lost but Viks managed to score her first league try (mirroring Big Bill’s performance?) and Leah scored too.

Finally a very curious positive that has been mentioned elsewhere is the anger and anguish shown on the faces of the fans on Saturday – three years ago Quins fans were openly laughing at the team and expecting nothing – we were at out nadir as a club. Now the majority feel for the team, have passion and demand success – we are now a real club (as Woodward said last season) and some of the supporters are the best to be found. There is a time to feel anger and depression, then there is a time to repress it, turn up to The Stoop with a steely glint in your eye, a smile on your face, a well rested voice and an insatiable thirst, ready to support your team and cheer them to victory.


(The Professor will be away for the next two games while he educates the world from a Mexican lectern – Prof’s Positives will be brought to you by a cabal for the next edition or two)