1. Epi Taione (Tongan)
2. Tom Guest (England Saxons & 7's)
3. Chris Robshaw (England Saxons)
4. Nick Easter (England)
5. Mike Worrincy (Harlequins RL)
6. Gonzalo Tiesi (Argentina & 7's)
7. Rhys Howells (Wales U16/U18)
8. Mike Brown (England & 7's)
9. Ollie Lindsay-Hague (England U16's )
10. Waisea Luveniyali (Fiji & 7's)
11. Dave Strettle (England & 7's)

So this would be the first chance for the supporters to see new signings Taione, Tiesi and Luveniyali in a Quins shirt

The first round draw saw Quins play Leeds Carnegie.

The starting Quins 7 was”

Tom Guest
Chris Robshaw
Nick Easter
Gonzalo Tiesi
Mike Brown
Waisea Luveniyali
Dave Strettle

The forwards showed great strength at the breakdown and forced a penalty, Brown took a quick tap and Strettle made an amazing mazy run going over the line whilst being tackled, it looked like he may have scored but the referee waved play on, Quins recycled the ball well and Guest showed good pace to score the first try, 7-0.

Brown picked up the restart and Tiesi made a good break but was stopped. Quins were awarded a penalty which was quickly taken allowing Strettle a simple score in the corner. 12-0

Leeds held onto the ball well just before half time but the Quins defence held strong until Leeds were attacking deep in Quins territory but a forward pass ended it and the half.

Guest made another good break through the centre, he was well supported by Tiesi who was caught, Leeds fumbled the ball allowing Strettle to pounce, chip the ball up into his own hands and jog over the line. 17-0.

Taione, Howells and Lindsay-Hauge replaced Easter, Luveniyali and Strettle.

Lyndsay-Hague made a good break, offloaded to Brown, the ball was kept alive by Taione and Robshaw who passed to his back row colleague Guest who had a jinking run to the line to score, 22-0.

Leeds had a good break but a fantastic tackle by Robshaw stopped it and allowed Taione to run at most of the Leeds team, pushing a number of them over, before offloading in the tackle to Mike Brown who supported well and scored under the posts, 27-0.

No more points were added.

This report has been written from the television coverage, unfortunately they didn’t cover the game against Sale in the quarter finals so apologies for that.

Quins won the quarter final with Strettle and Brown both scoring again and Tiesi scoring for the first time in a Quins shirt after being passed the ball after a comical hitch-kick move from Nick Easter. In contrast to the rest of the day all three trys were converted. Sale did prove a sterner test than Leeds coming back with two tries to leave the final score 21-12.

This meant Quins would face current champions Newcastle in the semi-final.

The Quins team was:

Epi Taione
Chris Robshaw
Nick Easter
Gonzalo Tiesi
Mike Brown
Waisea Luveniyali
Dave Strettle

Powerful play at the breakdown by Easter and Robshaw allowed Brown to take the ball up before passing to Strettle who passed it on to Taione who went over in the corner, taking the Newcastle defence with him. 5-0.

The restart was gathered by Robshaw who passed to Luveniyali to Strettle who pinned his ears back and went on an arcing run to the corner to score. The difficult conversion was added this time, 12-0.

Newcastle pulled a try back, 12-7.

The restart was gathered by Taione, who passed to Luveniyali, to Brown to Tiesi who made a break before being caught, but the ball was recycled well to allow Robshaw to power over in the corner. 17-7.

Guest replaced Easter at half time.

A good break by Luveniyali took the ball into Newcastle territory, he was well supported by Robshaw and Guest before Brown sent a long pass to Strettle who again scored in the corner, 22-7.

Newcastle pulled another try back straight after the restart and they again converted which narrowed the gap to 22-14.

Taione was replaced by Quins RL player Mike Worrincy.

Good strength by Brown at the tackle and an offload to Guest then Robshaw saw Luveniyali head for the corner and execute a classic scissors to allow Worrincy to score. 14-29.

Lindsay-Hague replaced Tiesi and made a good break before being bundled into touch at the final whistle.

After defeating the current holders Quins would face the previous winners and 7s specialists the British Army.

The first points in the final were scored by Mike Brown who received the ball from a Taione tap penalty, showed quick feet to wrong-foot the defence and then stretched over the line. 5-0.

Good combinations of the big lads on the Quins team – Easter and Taione saw Taione run through the Army defence to score, the simple conversion was missed again, 10-0.

Strettle gave a penalty away at the breakdown after a good Army attack, they kept the ball well, stretching the Quins’ defence to score in the corner. 10-5.

The Army then went ahead for the first time straight after, converting the try to go in with a half time 10-12 lead.

Guest replaced Taione.

Brown made a good break and passed to Guest who took the ball up further, Brown looped round him and received an offload and went in to score. The conversion was good. 17-12.

Worrincy came on for Howells.

The Army again held onto the ball well until Streattle and Robshaw earned a penalty at the breakdown.

Strettle was put in for a simple try in the corner after Mike Brown stood the defence up well. 22-12.

Hague replaced Luveniyali.

Brown put in a pinpoint restart which went into touch 5m from the Army line meaning they had 95m to go to be able to score. Again they kept the ball well but with Quins 10 points ahead and no time left on the clock hey wouldn’t be able to win, and the game ended with an Army knock on.

So Quins won their 14^th Middlesex 7s trophy.

With the last minute changes to the squad and minimal preparation time the Quins team did fantastically well to win the 7s. Mike Brown looked very good, timing his passes well and running good support lines. Robshaw was tireless in attack and defence. Guest showed he may have got even faster. Tiesi looks to be a very good signing, making good breaks although he did end the competition injured.

The youngsters, Lindsay-Hague and Howells, fitted in well and will have got valuable experience. Worrincy wasn’t on for long but did well when he was.

Strettle’s pace and elusive running was seen at its best.

Luveniyali looks to be very skilled in attack and defence and seems to be a good playmaker.

Easter’s defence and strength at the breakdown was fantastic as was his hitch-kick!

Epi Taione certainly looked like he enjoyed playing and winning. He may not be as speedy as the rest of the Quins squad but he certainly looks incredibly hard to put down.

So all in all it was a great day for Quins and certainly was a lot more fun to watch than the game in the wind and rain in Galway.

Apologies for the delay in posting this report but our reporter was involved in an accident on the way to the 7s, he wasn’t injured but he wasn’t able to report on the day.

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