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Articles by Derek Williams

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About Derek Williams

A recently-retired actuary, the long-suffering Derek has been a Quins fan for the best part of three decades. More Posts

Plus ça change …

  Yesterday to the Stoop with great expectations. Yes, Quins were in a trough of a run results-wise and in the back of one’s mind one feared the worst – especially since we were playing local [well local in the sense they now play out of Reading’s Madejski Stadium] arch-rivals London [...]

March 8, 2015 // 0 Comments

A long day’s journey into night

Sports fans come in all shapes, sizes, mental states and degrees of fanaticism. Maybe it’s my time of life, but I’m now wavering between giving up my season tickets at the end of this season in favour of just watching such Quins games as are available on television … and just taking a deep [...]

March 1, 2015 // 0 Comments

I suppose the only way is up

Yesterday it was not without trepidation that I journeyed to the Sussex Arms off Twickenham Green at 1.00pm in advance of Harlequins’ Premiership clash with Exeter Chiefs at the Stoop. The Chiefs are one of the unsung successes of rugby’s Premiership. They buy well, possess a healthy mix of [...]

February 22, 2015 // 0 Comments

That’s this season over, then (again) …

Yesterday afternoon the Harlequins played Wasps away in the Premiership and lost 37-6. By all accounts, especially those on the fans’ website, the losers’ performance was right up there with the most insipid, disinterested and un-Quins-like that anyone can recall since we won our sole [...]

February 16, 2015 // 0 Comments

Every side needs one like this

Today a salute to long-serving lock George Robson, 29, who – it has just been announced on the Harlequins official club website – is departing at the end of the season to join French Top 14 side Oyonnaix. During the course of his career ‘The Goatman’ (as he is known for reasons lost in time [...]

February 12, 2015 // 0 Comments

Roger, over and out

There’s not much to be said – or indeed remembered – about my visit to the Stoop to see the Harlequins host Bath in the LV= Cup yesterday. I’m not even sure why I went, to be honest: the weather forecasters were not wrong when they predicted it was likely to get bitterly cold after lunch [...]

February 1, 2015 // 0 Comments

Desperation alone is not enough

Last weekend – as regular readers will need no reminding – in an extraordinary game against at the Stoop in which they enjoyed 70% possession of the ball but contrived to lose 3-23, the Harlequins had also surrendered the control of their Rugby Champions Cup pool group that they had [...]

January 25, 2015 // 0 Comments

Another Quins display to forget (hopefully)

There  is a small but vital margin between being a fan of a sport and being a fan of a particular team. I can watch rugby union at any level of the game from internationals downwards, including seven-a-sides, but – in the style of the well-worn example concerning a full-cooked breakfast [...]

January 18, 2015 // 0 Comments

An evening at the Stoop

Preoccupied with email correspondence, last night I suddenly ‘came to’ at about 6.50pm, realised that it was only 40 minutes to kick-off in the Quins versus Bristol ‘A’ league friendly match, and had to get a wriggle on to get to the Stoop in time. With apologies for repeating myself, I [...]

January 13, 2015 // 0 Comments

A great day I chose to miss

Yesterday another raucous full house at the Stoop witnessed one of its ‘special days’ as the Harlequins, against all pundits’ predictions including my own, spanked the in-form Leicester Tigers by a margin of 32-12 for a four-try bonus point win to lift them from 8th to 7th in the [...]

January 11, 2015 // 0 Comments

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