With several players not available due to different injuries, it was a pleasant surprise to see 19 players turn up at Harlequin Amateur for this friendly fixture.
As the opponents were an unknown quantity, the decision was to start reasonably strong and adjust the team as necessary as the game progressed.

We lost the toss and were to receive the kick. This was mis-fielded and a scrum for Harlequins was the result. A great drive by Vandals saw James Gulliver able to take the ball at #8 and go for a trademark run, well supported by the back row and scrum half, and cross the line wide out for the first try. Although very close, it was just missed by Harry Weatherall.
The resulting kick off was fielded by Vandals and the ball passed to Harry Weatherall on our 10 metre line. He then cut through the whole of the opposition and crossed the line for a fine solo try which he converted.
The sides reformed for the kick off which James Gulliver caught and ran straight back through Harlequins for another try.
The next restart began a good period of play for Harlequins which was met by stiff tackling by Vandals and the defence held steady. Vandals were eventually awarded a penalty which was quickly taken by Rory Burtenshaw and passed down the line to Duncan Dickson who ran through for a great score which was converted by Harry Weatherall.
Another sustained period of play for Harlequins followed the restart but eventually Rhys Marshall gathered the ball and made a great solo run before passing to the supporting Alastair Kinder who scored with Harry Weatherall converting.
Half time was a welcome relief for all the players as the game was being played at high tempo. Changes were made to allow other players to experiment with different positions and the second half was a much closer game with neither side dominating to start with, until Ronan Whilton made a great break from centre to go under the posts for a score which Harry Weatherall converted.
Further tries came for Vandals with Nicholas Stonehouse taking a miss pass from Alastair Kinder to go under the posts and for Harry Weatherall to convert.
Ronan Whilton got a second following an excellent solo break again converted by Harry Weatherall.
Tarendeep Dhillon scored following a solo effort from our own 10 metre line where he stole the ball in a maul and emerged at pace to go through untouched under the posts. Harry Weatherall again converting.
The game was marred by the sin binning of Connor Paull for a series of illegal hand offs but the traffic was still one way with Adam Varney getting 2 tries, one converted by Harry Weatherall. These were split by a great run from one of the Harlequins pack down the touchline to within metres of the line, only to be stopped by a tackle felt on the opposite touchline, from Duncan Dickson and the play to breakdown.
The game ended with Vandals very much in control but still making simple handling errors which will need to be addressed before the first league match next month.
A very good training session for Vandals with players experimenting with different positions which will be useful in the future.

Great effort guys, well supported and excellent individual runs and breaks. Great to see so many of you with smiles on your faces!