Victory at Quins Amateurs

On a ground which holds few fond memories for the visitors, Watford started brightly enjoying the bulk of territory and possession. The set piece was a more evenly contested affair than the men in red white and blue are used to, however the scrum and lineout provided a solid platform for the back line. Sam Holloway and Josh Wilkinson were both prominent in attack, Holloway in particular relishing the physical contest provided by his opposite number who’s hits were certainly borderline in terms of their legality.

Wilkinson missed with an early penalty, but Watford were not to be denied. A further penalty against the hosts was put to touch, a classic set piece finished off strongly by man of the match Georgio Pitsialis. A difficult touchline conversion was missed by Wilkinson, however the full back was not to be denied and scored under the posts after cutting a lovely line through the Quins midfield. Extras added, and Watford were 0-12 up and looking comfortable after 20 minutes.

Unfortunately, the visitors rested on their laurels and allowed Harlequins back into the match. The home team took hold of the ball and worked their way steadily into the Watford 22. A penalty was conceded when the stags strayed offside, the subsequent miss a temporary let off as Quins gathered the drop out and recycled to score a try of their own. Watford hung on for the remainder of the half, with only a Quins knock on over the line preserving their lead.

The second half was contested in a similar manner to the first. Neither side gaining the upper hand in the arm wrestle up front, with Watford having the slight edge in terms of broken play. Wilkinson added his second and Watford’s third with a try all of his own making, fly hacking the ball upfield and winning the race to dot down. Quins soon struck back with one of their own, never letting Watford fully out of sight.

Watford knew they were in a battle, and worked their way down the park with a series of tight drives and carries to within 5 metres of the opposition try line. Play was reversed, Gary Wilson throwing a dummy and scoring much to the horror of his team mates. Surprisingly, I don’t think he actually mentioned it during the evenings festivities – either that or I managed to avoid / ignore him all night ;-).

With the bonus point in the bag, Hammill added some spice to proceedings with some sneaky skulduggery (we all immediately assumed it had been Bees) and Harlequins scored a try from the resulting penalty for a deserved losing bonus point. Naughty Luke.

So, Watford head into phase 2 in the top six once more with the tough ask of playing all games away from home. Opposition are to be confirmed, but the first match is the 18th Feb.

Man of the Match – Georgio Pitsialis. Carried and tackled strongly as he does every game. Was driving so Martin Lee heroically stepped up to drink his pint. What a legend.

WotW – Jon McClennon / Luke Hammill. Not sure why Clenners got a mention, probably because he went to savage Hammill for his trip and it would be funny to see him try and drink lager. Hammill – trip leading to try.