Articles by Derek Williams

  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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]