Lakenham Hewitt kicked-off and immediately put pressure on Quins in their own half, which set the trend for the majority of the game. Quins suffered a major setback after just six minutes when scrum half Cally Hocknell was injured, forcing play onto an adjacent pitch.

The visitors took the lead by scoring a try and conversion with ten minutes on the clock. Soon after, Vicky Gallagher stole the ball from a Lakenham lineout, but the pressure told on the home side and the ball went back into touch. Following a knock-on by Lakenham, Quins picked up the ball and drove play forward; testing the opposition defence for the first time in the game. Despite controlling possession, Quins were constantly out-muscled at the breakdown.

Following a Quins knock-on, Lakenham were awarded a scrum on the Quins twenty-two. The scrum half saw an unmarked blind side and Quins back row were too slow to react to the two against one overlap, allowing Lakenham's winger to score in the corner. Quins lineout failed to function properly all afternoon and a missed opportunity on their own throw resulted in a try for Lakenham's centre just before half-time.

Quins kicked off the second half but a scrum to Lakenham soon saw their centre storm through for another try. After the re-start, Quins were awarded a penalty and hooker Kirsty Rennison made a run down the left wing, but the offload was knocked on and another scoring opportunity went begging for the home side.

After a rare Quins lineout win, second row Helen Cushion carried the ball up field, breaking a number of tackles, but a lack of support meant another turnover of possession. Despite being a much lighter pack, Quins were scrummaging well and giving Lakenham a hard time, before starting to come under renewed pressure as the match wore on. Quins woe was compounded when Lakenham ran-in a further three tries before the final whistle.

Captain Vicky Gallagher commented: "Whilst the final score is far from flattering for us, there are a lot of positives to take from this game. It was honours even in the scrummaging, despite us being a far smaller pack and I was very pleased to see the determination in defence right up to the final whistle."

"It's testament to that defence that the margin of defeat wasn't much greater, as Lakenham had the vast majority of possession during the 80 minutes. With so many new faces in the starting line-up this season, we must have patience whilst the team gels."

Michelob Ultra Man-of-the-Match - Kay Rees