This 10th win of the season now lifts them to 4th place in Somerset Premier.

Before kick-off there was a sense that Avon were focussed on this match and they made an explosive start with a 3 try blitz inside the first 10 minutes to stun their hosts. Returning at scrum half after a 4 month injury lay off, Ollie Flight opened the scoring after a powerful surge from Xander Davis, whose storming runs were a feature of the match. Then Scott Book in his first start of the season finished off good approach work from Tom Boreham and Chris Mutlow before winger Iain Parris touched down in the corner. With 2 conversions from Jonny Batchelor, Avon were suddenly 19 points ahead.

It wasn’t perhaps surprising that they slightly relaxed and a loose pass was intercepted to allow Quins to score at the other end. Avon persisted in their expansive style though, determined not to fall into the trap of an arm-wrestle with their Bristol opponents, and this approach paid off with another 3 tries before half time. Firstly, centre Escher Le Duc burst through some attempted tackles in midfield to score a fine individual try from the halfway line to clock up the try-bonus. Then a powerful lineout drive created the position for Flight to score his second try. With the interval approaching, Zak Harwood capped an excellent display to charge over from short range, although an ankle injury forced him to leave the field at half time.

Batchelor slotted another conversion and saw 2 other attempts bounce back off the posts in the swirling wind for a commanding 36 – 5 lead at the break.

Good defensive pressure from Quins saw them rewarded with another interception try shortly after the restart. But then came the try of the match as Boreham fielded an awkward kick and the follow up tackle to get the ball away, from where Flight and Parris handled superbly before unleashing replacement Kiddie Sheikh who turned the defence inside out with a tantalising run to touch down under the posts. Shortly afterwards, he returned the favour after a devastating break to set up his team mate Parris who scored his 16th try of the season.

It was fitting that Avon skipper Kane Book capped a series of consistently fine performances throughout the season by scoring their final try after a searing run and clever offload from Ian Burnell. With another 2 conversions from Batchelor, Avon’s work was done but Sheikh was unfortunately carried off after another ankle injury before Quins spirit saw them create a deserved try in the corner to complete the match.

On Saturday, Avon host unbeaten league leaders Nailsea & Backwell at Hicks Field when it is anticipated a decent crowd will come along to support with the internationals also being shown on the big screens in the clubhouse.