Yesterday afternoon I took the opportunity to renew my acquaintance with the lithe limbs & energetic cavorting techniques of the Columbinas dance troupe – I shall never get used to calling them the LV Girls – on a cold afternoon in south-west London.

Due to a combination of my principled refusal to watch any 2009/2010 Harlequins game in the Heineken Cup (on the ground Quins should have been banned from the competition for at least a season as a result of the ‘Bloodgate’ debacle) and other, external circumstances, this was my first visit to the Stoop for at least two months.

Let us be clear, it is the lot of any true fan to support their team through both thick & thin, the good times and the bad. However, on any measuring scale, the Harlequins’ season so far has been ‘flat’. After the heady heights & excitements of last year, not least a fine run of form and plaudits from all sides for their all-out-attacking style of play, this has been a difficult cross to bear. Especially when, in game after game this term, Quins have gifted the opposition an early, unassailable, lead … or else gradually & meekly surrendered what had been a comfortable winning position.

I cannot quite put my finger on the problem. Undoubtedly, the fall-out from ‘Bloodgate’, including the departure of iconic Director of Rugby Dean Richards, has been a key factor. Long-term injuries have also played their part, as has a rather insipid summer recruitment policy. However, none of these adequately explain the extent of the current Quins malaise.

Yesterday’s LV Cup clash with Gloucester was a perfect case in point. Needing nothing less than a bonus win victory to stay in the hunt for the knock-out phase, Quins ran up a 20-0 (three try) lead after only 22 minutes. World class All Black fly-half Nick Evans was sublime, scoring two tries and pulling all the strings.

The responsibility for what then followed was entirely mine. It was at this point that I turned to my next door neighbour in the stand and commented “If we carry on like this, I can see us notching 50 points today”, which of course was the kiss of death. Gloucester came back and with an awful inevitability – culminating with a nail-biting try, converted from the touchline well into injury-time – won 31-29 to knock Quins out of yet another competition.

[For those who might be interested, there is an entry in the ’Viewpoint’ section today.]