By RugbyBird
September 25 2002

Realising that I had some pretty big boots to fill in writing the equivalent of Prof's Positives for last Saturday, I decided I should get into character prior to the game to help me see things through Prof's eyes. So - 25 pints of Pride and 14 Pork Rolls later I was ready for the challenge . . .

I have to start with my favourite moment of the whole match - Greenstock's perfectly timed interception and subsequent 80 metre charge down the pitch to score his try. It reminded me of Luger's try for England v SA last year. Fan-bloomin'-tastic!

It was my favourite moment for many reasons:

• It was good to be the team taking and making these moves for a change, instead of being the team on the receiving end of them
• The sheer determination on Greenstock's face plus the encouragement and delight of his team mates showed the true Quins spirit is still very much alive
• Above all, the noise of the crowd willing him on every centimetre of the way and erupting as he went over - Loud & Proud one and all.

The fans did the players proud throughout the match - and they certainly returned the compliment.
Greenstock had a pretty good game all round - he was effective defensively as well as in attack - not bad for a part timer!

Tani had a pretty good all round game. He provided some good throw ins and showed great hands. It was good to see him back (or should that be forward?!)

On the subject of line outs it was great to have Codders back and we certainly saw the difference he makes. I also saw something I never thought I would - Alex Codling chipping & chasing!! (Sorry, Viks - couldn't bring myself to work in the Cod 'n Chips joke here!)

The back row were the best I have seen them this season and worked very well as a unit - as well as individually. There were more thumping tackles from Ace which are rapidly becoming his trademark. Dippy (often the unsung hero in my opinion) and Sanderson both had cracking games - they repeatedly turned Irish in the tackle and gained us some valuable possession. They were fluid and provided lots of quick ball - very encouraging.

Scott Bemand showed good vision at scrum half - persistently providing quick ball and showing excellent control of recycling the forwards to maintain one of Scotty's favourite things - the rolling maul. The scrums as a whole were a marked improvement this week - almost without exception they held their own (so to speak!)

Williams continued to perform well at full back. He took the high kicks well under pressure and shouted orders to the backs to make sure everyone knew what, where & when.

Everything that I have mentioned so far is a result of skills & training - but the most positive thing for me was something less tangible - the guys WANTED it. It was an emotionally charged day for a number of reasons but whatever the reason for it the Passion was back - and it was fantastic to watch.

All in all there were plenty of Positives and plenty to be Encouraged by - we took all the good bits from the previous 3 games and put them together to show signs of what we are capable of - and what more we can achieve. We played as a team, not as small units or even individuals.

It was also encouraging to see that no-one - neither management or players - has just accepted the win, they have all said that we could have played better and are taking steps to ensure that we do.

We turned the corner on Saturday - both the players and the fans - let's keep our part of the bargain going and prove that "You'll not seeing nothing like the Mighty Quin".

To summarise:           A) We Won!
                        B) We Beat The Irish!
My thanks to Andy VIII & Viks for their input & proof reading (or should that be Prof reading?!)