Newbury Blues: 26
Quins A: 22
There was a strong Academy presence in the Quins A team that faced National League One side Newbury Blues on Monday night. Tom Sargeant, Sam Smith and Seb Jewell all started, with George Lowe, Chris York and Seb Stegmann all featuring on the bench.
Quins took control of the game early on, setting up camp in the Newbury 22. Tongan centre, Epi Taione, crashed through the Blues defence early on, but the try was disallowed and a penalty given to Newbury for crossing.
It took 20 minutes for either team to score, with the home team taking advantage of a rare foray into the Quins 22, as back row Jack Bentall collected a clever chip from fly half Gareth Griffiths to go over the line. Griffiths added the extras to take the score to 7-0.
Quins were quick to respond, with two tries being scored in quick succession. Jono Ross picked the ball up from the base of the scrum, and fed out to Waisea Luveniyali, who in turn gave a well-timed pass to Charlie Amesbury, who touched down in the corner. The second try also came from a scrum, as Ross again picked up from the base, with the ball ending in the hands of Smith who crossed the whitewash. Both conversions were missed, leaving the half-time score 7-10.
Quins started the second half as they finished the first, with both Jewell and Ross coming close to extending the Quins lead. An altercation between Jim Evans and a Newbury forward led to a scrum on the 5m line being awarded to Quins, who drove hard, with Luveniyali finding Tosh Masson with a delightful inside ball, who went under the post unopposed. Luveniyali added the extras.
After catching Aston Croall with his elbow, Brad Mockford was sent to the sin-bin, and Quins utilized the extra man. Slick handling in the backs and a dummy from Jewell saw him sail over for Quins fourth try of the match.
Despite the advantage being in Quins favour, Newbury fought back hard, scoring two quick tries in the last ten minutes. With the last play of the game, they made it three, and Griffiths scored the final conversion, making the final score 26-22.
It was a disappointing performance overall for the Quins A team, but gave valuable game time to players ahead of the A League semi final to be held at The Stoop against Northampton on Monday 2nd March.
Newbury Blues: 15. Jonny Hylton, 14. Chris Ridgers, 13. Charlie Perry, 12. Marc Sweeney, 11. Martin Nutt, 10. Gareth Griffiths, 9. Waylon Gasson, 8. Scott Witcomb, 7. Sean Fox, 6. Jack Bentall, 5. Brad Mockford, 4. Ien Ascroft-Leigh, 3. Tom Fidler, 2. Joe Clark, 1. Nathan Catt.
Replacements: 16. Harry Pendleton, 17. Rob Green, 18. Paul Fincken, 19. Adrian Griffiths, 20. Tom Kessell, 21. Dave Birtwhistle, 22. Ross Noonan.
Quins A: 15. Waisea Luveniyali, 14. Charlie Amesbury, 13. Tosh Masson, 12. Epi Taione, 11. Sam Smith, 10. Seb Jewell, 9 Junior Polu, 8. Jono Ross, 7. Neil McMillan, 6. Tom Sargeant, 5. Jim Evans, 4. James Inglis, 3. Peter Bracken, 2. Chris Brooker, 1. Aston Croall
Replacements: 17. Alex Rogers, 19. Chris York, 20. Gareth Williams, 21. George Lowe, 22. Seb Stegmann
England U20's.
Congratulations to Chris York, who made his debut for the England U20's two weeks ago against Italy U20s.
Both York and fellow Quins Academy player Seb Stegmann featured in the line-up for the first U20's game of the tournament, which saw England run away 17-0 winners. Stegmann was a constant threat on the right wing, with some highly impactful runs eventually paying off in the second half, when he showed a devastating step off his right foot to dance past two defenders to cross the Italian line.
Stegmann and York were last week joined by flanker Tom Sargeant in the match 22 to face Wales U20 last weekend. The U20's managed to do what their EPS colleague couldn't, and beat the Welsh in Wales, by 28 points to 16. An undisciplined match saw three yellow cards handed out to England, with York and Sargeant being the recipients of two of them. It wasn't all doom and gloom however, as a wonderful move from fly-half Rob Miller and centre Greig Tonks created a gap through which York charged 20 meters to touch down between the posts. Stegmann also received glowing praise, after creating a move that led to England's third try just before half-time. With his first real touch of the ball, the talented winger produced an audacious step that began a dazzling run up the pitch. He beat five defenders on his way, leaving the Welsh trembling in his wake as he offloaded to Calum Clarke to score. Despite not getting on the score sheet himself, he was a constant threat in attack, as the Welsh defence seemed unable to cope with his sublime footwork, speed and strength.
The Quins boys will look to continue to make a good impression in the next coming fixture in the U20's Six Nations, against Ireland U20's.
Loan Club Round-up:
Whilst few of the loan clubs played this week, and with three boys out on international duty, Sam Smith and Dan Frazier were the only Quins representative's this weekend.
Smith featured for Blackheath, who hung on for a vital 23-17 win against Stourbridge, who looked to be the stronger side for much of the game. An intercepted try early on in the second half was the turning point of the game, and from then on Blackheath's defence held firm, and they clung on to take the four points. Blackheath now sit sixth in National League Two table, with two games in hand over most of their fellow teams.
Frazier featured in a very emphatic win for Rosslyn Park against Chinnor, 42-0. The home side put together a spectacular attacking performance, running in six tries in total. The visitors fought valiantly for the first quarter, but were eventually worn down by wave after wave of Rosslyn Park attacks, as the home side set about destroying their visitors. The club now lie third in the National League Three South table, as they continue their promotion battle.
