As reported earlier in the week, we did not expect this in our first season back in the Premiership and it is a real boost to all the staff working hard behind the scenes here at the Stoop. Our attendance growth again this year has been very pleasing with our current average being over 10,500.

With regards to ticket sales for our other two remaining home matches against London Irish (Saturday 7th April) and Sale Sharks (Saturday 28th April), these are very strong indeed and I would recommend to any one who would like to attend these matches to buy a ticket soon to avoid disappointment .

The 2007/08 Season Ticket campaign is due for launch next month and this week we had a focus forum with a number of current Season Ticket holders, which provided us with some invaluable feedback. I would just like to say thank you to Emma Stewart from Quinssa who helped get all the Season Ticket holders there.

The purpose of the forum was to look at our proposed pricing policy and associated benefits for Season Ticket holders next year. We also discussed the communication material that would be used, namely brochures and emails. One of the areas that I found particularly interesting was our policy over pricing for our junior and young adult supporters. It was very pleasing for us recently to see the results of the Guinness Premiership fans survey from last year. This rated Quins very highly in a number of areas, including the value for money our ticket pricing offered. In fact, we were rated the best in the league on this point.

However, one issue that is causing alarm in football is the massive drop off amongst their young fan base, particularly within the 16 to 21 age groups. This has been directly associated with the rise in ticket pricing in the sport and the fact little, if not no, concession is made for this age group. We are to my knowledge the only club in rugby that offer a Young Adult (Under 21) ticket concession price; this currently is within our Club section. We are reviewing the need to broaden this to help make young adults be part of our fine rugby experience.

Right, back to this coming Saturday and there is plenty going on to keep every one amused. Firstly, we have the next rounds of the semi-finals of the Quins Curtain Raiser Cup. We will see over 2,000 kids and parents from some of our associate junior rugby clubs at the Stoop this weekend. This is a clear indication of our commitment to work in the community and testament to all the hard work our Community Department is doing. The community function at Quins is very important to us and has been one of the major contributing factors to the growth of our support over the years.

Unfortunately on Saturday, the RFU have closed the Rosebine Car Park due to the recent wet weather. We have arranged alternative parking within the North Car Park at Twickenham Stadium - please find details about this by clicking here. We apologise for the inconvenience this will cause, and I can confirm that we are currently reviewing our whole car parking policy in light of the issues we have had with the Rosebine and will communicate this in due course.

Saturday will see the normal food outlets on offer in all four corners of the ground, the outside bar in the South-East corner, the Guinness Bar in the North-West corner and our usual band of back pack beer sellers.

There will be plenty of chances to win some fantastic prizes, with Greene King again running their 'Win your weight in beer' competition. When you buy a pint of IPA you will be given a voucher to fill in. If your voucher is drawn out of the hat, you will be weighed on the East Stand stage post match by Mad Max and will be given your weight in beer. By weighing in at over 19 stone, I am still working hard on fiddling the draw in my favour!

Our Match Sponsors on Saturday, Andalucia will be running a hot seat competition where one lucky ticket holder at the game will win a free weekend (two nights) for two people in Andalucia, staying in the four-star NH Almenara Golf & Spa Hotel located in Sotogrande (Cádiz). Andalucia will also be giving out Bam Bam's to as many people as they can, to ensure we can make as much noise as possible on Saturday!

Now if you are still unlucky with those, you also have the chance to win a holiday for four to Club Phokaia in Turkey with our Platinum Sponsors - Sunsail Clubs. Their stand can be found in the South-East corner, where you can enter the competition.

The QUINSLOTTO team will again be out and about, and already we have had some lucky winners walking away with some cash. This is really building up momentum and the ring fenced funds will provide some much needed extra resource to our Academy.

The Academy is having another excellent year with a number of our younger players achieving representative honours. I urge you to join and to give support to the excellent work currently being done by Colin Osborne and Tony Diprose who run our Academy along with our Rugby League colleagues Tony Rea and Phil Jones. More information on QUINSLOTTO can be found by clicking here.

Mad Max will no doubt be in good voice on Saturday and will be having a great supporting cast in our mascots Harley and Charley, as well as the Metropolitan Police Dog Display Team who will be performing at half-time - look out for the dogs abseiling off the Lexus Stand!

The Mighty Quins village will be open as usual with the normal face painters, bouncy castles and fun for our junior supporters. The post match band will be 'Blurasis' and I am sure the more intelligent of you will be able to work out the type of music they might be playing!

And if that was not enough, we have a real treat in store for all golf fans. On the stage in the Kings Bar, East Stand pre match and at half-time, you will have the opportunity to do something the Americans haven't been able to since 1999; namely get your hands on the Ryder Cup and have your picture taken with one of golf's most famous trophies.

Phew! So lot's happening at the best matchday experience in the Guinness Premiership. I look forward to seeing you all at the Stoop on Saturday and welcoming our rivals Wasps from Buckinghamshire to London.

Tony Copsey
Managing Director
NEC Harlequins