Lamb wants to get back in the thick of it for Harlequins
DINO Lamb is putting the frustrations of last season behind him as he looks to help Harlequins get back into the Premiership's top four.
The 24-year old second row started his club's first nine Premiership matches last season but then only made four more appearances in all competitions after being sidelined by hamstring and arm injuries that both required surgery.
“I tore my hamstring at Bath and when I returned I ruptured my biceps,” said Lamb. “I was out for a long time and I have been gradually brought back this season, on the bench for the first three matches, to get my confidence back up.”
Lamb started the victory over Northampton at the beginning of the month and will be in the boilerhouse for the visit of Leicester who displaced Quins as champions last season.
“It is one hell of a fixture and it should be a great one to watch,” said Lamb. “We like to keep the ball in play and operate at a high tempo and speed on the pitch and they like to kick it out and get a set-piece. The clash in the styles of play should make it interesting to watch.
“We can mix it up. We scored two maul tries against Northampton and it is a weapon of ours. We will look to see what we can do to their pack five or 10 metres out.
“You have to keep defences guessing. If we use line-out five or 10 metres out, opponents have to bite in more on that and we can bring in the backs.”
It has been a mixed start for Quins with victories at Newcastle and at home to Northampton sandwiched by defeat to Saracens at The Stoop and a one-point reverse at Exeter who won the game with a try in the last move of the afternoon.
“We have had high scoring games and it is about how we can close teams out in the final minutes, as we did against Saints,” said Lamb. “That has been our work-on, not allowing teams to match us on points.
“We are scoring a lot of points and we have to stop the opposition. It is good to watch and in the first half against Northampton the ball was in play for a very long time.
“We have been working on the defensive plan and used our week off to pay a lot of attention to it. It has been our focus as we look to break into the top four.”
Quins have been playing before packed houses at home this season, but the opening weeks of the campaign have been dominated by the collapse of Worcester and the administration Wasps are set to go into this week.
“It is tough to witness,” said Lamb. “We hope both the clubs can turn around and go in a positive direction. It highlights the great owners we have at Harlequins and the way we are progressing.
“The rugby has been entertaining this season and the numbers watching it on social media have skyrocketed. It is moving in the right direction on the field and I hope it can get back into a positive track off it.”
