A try on the first weekend of the Aviva Premiership Rugby season was a pretty perfect start for Ollie Lindsay-Hague, but he is adamant there is more to come from both himself and Harlequins.
The 23-year-old was a first-half replacement at last weekend’s London Double Header, coming on after Ugo Monye sustained an injury.
And Lindsay-Hague had an almost immediate impact, streaking clear down the left to score Quins’ second try and set them up for what looked like being a routine victory over London Irish.
But the Exiles refused to buckle while Quins lost their way after the interval and in the end they had to cling on for a hard-fought victory.
And after falling at the semi-final stage in the play-offs for the last two years, Lindsay-Hague knows that it’s time for Quins to buck up their ideas.
“The most important thing for the team was to get the win and we managed that,” he said.
“Second-half we lost our heads a bit and we will need to learn from that and put it right , the last few seasons we have not started the season that well.
“But every year is different and we know we have to start well but we will see where we are after five games.
“Losing in the semi-finals for the last two years has been tough.
“We want to win trophies and those losses have made us a little bit hungrier this time around.”
Full-back is Lindsay-Hague’s position of preference but the speedster is equally capable on the wing, where he came on for Monye on Saturday.
But with England stars like Mike Brown and new signing Marland Yarde also competing for spots in the back three, the 23-year-old knows he has to make the most of any opportunity that comes his way.
“I was chuffed to get on, earlier than expected, and to get the try after Ugo went down,” he added.
“There is a lot of competition here but that’s great as it keeps you training hard and playing your best.
“I have been on the wing in pre-season as well so I am very comfortable playing there and when Mike (Brown) goes away there is a chance to play a bit at full-back.
“But there are a lot of young guys putting their hands up, Charlie Walker, Ross Chisholm, it is up to me to put my hand up and show what I can do.”
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