Quins turned to cricket to lift spirits after Champions Cup exit

A sombre cloud had descended on the Harlequins camp following their heart-breaking exit from the Champions Cup last weekend – an exit which came down to a single kick off the boot of flyhalf Marcus Smith. 

However, some wisdom from Head Coach Tabai Matson worked to lift his troops’ spirits as they readied themselves for a mammoth clash against Leicester this weekend. 

“We went to work (on Monday) and then we played cricket in the afternoon. It’s real simple,” Matson said. 

“We didn’t go through what we’d normally do. We played a bit of backyard cricket and had a bit of fun and that was on the response from the players’ meeting in the morning. 

“They were pretty gutted. We’ve spoken all year and there was a genuine desire to move deeper into the play-offs, pushing in Europe, and to be knocked out at this stage was a bit of a kick in the guts. 

“They know they’ve missed an opportunity, so there weren’t many rugby balls, but we’re back to work. 

“If we don’t get this week’s prep right Leicester will humiliate us, so you can’t sulk for too long in this competition, that’s for sure. 

“We’ve got the best team in England currently at the weekend and then we got to Northampton, Gloucester, Exeter. 

“So for us we’ve got to play well to keep in the top four. That can be our sole focus now, so it’s a massive challenge this week. 

“Leicester have shown their credentials in Europe as well over the last two weeks, so we’ve got a fantastic challenge in our last game at The Stoop. It’s a good team to bounce up to, to be fair. 

“We’re under no illusions that we’re going to be in the top four after (our next) four games. We have to be at our best.”