Last Sunday's game against Bristol Shoguns was a very emotional affair. There is no doubt that many of the players were affected by the sad passing away of Nick Duncombe, and although we had all been at the funeral on the previous Thursday, there were a lot of emotions that came to the fore last Sunday.
In the circumstances and having been 41-17 down after 56 minutes, we were absolutely delighted to come away with two points. We did not play well, but the courage and determination that the team showed in the second half bodes well for the remainder of the season. As ever, the away support at the Memorial Stadium was fantastic; clearly out shouting the home crowd and that was greatly appreciated by everyone involved with the team.
All three of our new signings, Mel Deane, Billy Fulton and Ceri Jones, made good impressions in their first games for the club and as ever, Paul Burke slotted the crucial kick at the end to give us that extra point.
There were many areas of our game which did not function at all on Sunday. Some of the first up tackling was very poor but we all knew that it would be a difficult day for everyone involved with NEC Harlequins, as it proved to be.
With this weekend's Six Nations fixtures, we have a weekend off before facing London Irish at the Madejski Stadium a week on Sunday (16th March 2003). They are all massive games now, with six teams separated by just five points in the bottom half of the Zurich Premiership table. London Irish will offer us a stern challenge on their own patch, but after the tense draw we earned at the Madejski last season, we will be looking to go one better this time around.
On the injury front, Jason Leonard is progressing well from the hamstring injury he suffered while winning his 100th England cap against France. He has started to run without pain and could be back in action in early April if he continues to progress well. Bruce Starr dislocated his elbow prior to the Bristol game. He will have the cast taken off on 10th March, and will hopefully return to full training some three weeks after that.
Laurent Gomez has a consultant review on 17th March and if all goes well, he will be able to start running towards the end of the month, and may therefore be back in action before the end of the season.
The Second XV will be playing London Wasps on Monday 17th March, kick-off 7.30pm at the Stoop, and there should be further games against Gloucester and possibly The Army to follow before the end of the season.
We wish all our players well who are away on international duty this weekend, but please come back in one piece! Then we can start our preparations for the London Irish game.
Enjoy your weekend.
