Dogged Performance Secures Another Well-Deserved Win

Welcoming back a few of their injured contingent, Avon dominated the early proceedings, stretching the Quins defence left then right. This was rewarded with an overlap which winger Ben Crane exploited to touch down the opening try in the corner. Rob Fitch converted magnificently from out wide and shortly after added a penalty for a 10 point gap.

Quins countered but Avon retained the edge up front with newcomer JJ Pulvertaft settling in well in the 2nd row and Josh Harding-Wyatt and Ian Burnell making the hard yards in the back row. Meanwhile Fitch was enjoying a masterful tactical display at fly half with his booming kicks keeping the visitors deep on the defensive.

A scrum penalty gave Fitch a straightforward chance for another successful kick between the posts before he added his third with a 50 yard monster from near halfway. With Quins showing some dangerous forward drives, they opened their account with a snap drop goal before they were penalised from a late tackle on Avon's promising young scrum half Alex Gapper. Fitch struck the resulting penalty sweetly from another 50 yards out to open up a 19-3 lead.

A snaking run from centre Damien Sawyer then opened up midfield where he linked with Kane Book for Avon to pound the try line as half time beckoned.

Quins made a feverish start to the second half, only to be repelled by magnificent Avon tacking. This set the tone for the remainder of the match as the rain poured down and the pitch became a quagmire, suiting the visitors forward-oriented style of play. Every time Avon escaped upfield, a turnover or lengthy relieving kick from Quins scrum half Ross Vickery forced them back inside their own 22.

Eventually the pressure told as Quins scored a converted try through the middle after a driving line out to cut the deficit to 9 points. A similar pattern ensued with committed Avon tackling thwarting the visitors short range attacks. Although Avon lost Kane Book to the sin bin after a technical infringement, their 7 man pack heroically took another strike against the head for some much-needed respite from the relentless pounding.

Finally, deep into injury time, Quins engineered another try by Matty Hudd after a surging line out drive with half their backs joining in to add their weight to the forward thrust. With Vickery converting from the touchline, it was suddenly a two-point game but Avon summoned the remnants of their resources and willpower to close out the win in a nail-biting finish.

Club captain Kai Harwood, who is being forced by injury to watch this season from the touchline, commented "Rob Fitch was beautiful in the first half but as the conditions worsened, I was proud of the spirit and commitment from the whole squad to battle through for a tough win against a powerful Bristol side."

Next week Avon travel to unbeaten league leaders Matson.