Leeds get more peak practice

'Heartbreak Hill' is where Leeds spent every Saturday during the summer, testing their squad's ability to cope with adversity as much as their fitness. 'It's so tough, it's absolutely disgusting,' said Shelley.

Just as it pulled them through a few tight corners in the opening match against Leicester, so the hours of mind over matter on the hill pulled Leeds through a few more to leave Quins marooned at the bottom. In shoving them there, the Yorkshire club achieved as much in their first 80 minutes away from Headingley as they did throughout last season.

A result which left the Quins faithful fearful of another severe winter proved how wisely Leeds have spent. Mark Regan, a misfit at Bath last season, has reinvented himself, rapidly making up for lost

ground in the England hooker ratings, not least in tandem with the game's supreme line- out jumper, Tom Palmer.

Braam van Straaten, free to concentrate on Leeds after retiring from the Springboks, climaxed a masterly performance by landing a downwind, second-half penalty from 65 yards. His haul would have been all the greater had he not sent another penalty from closer range spiralling above the far upright, so causing enough doubt for the touch judges to keep their flags down.

That doubt could easily have made all the difference had Shelley's pack not heaped insult on Quins' injury by shoving them off their own scrum ball for Scottish flanker Cameron Mather to score the decisive try as due reward for another mighty contribution.

In the midst of imports from six countries, another Yorkshireman stood out as usual and not just because of his peroxide look. Dan Scarbrough - from Bradford, despite his name - finished twice to make it four tries in three games, early notice that he intends beating last season's record of scoring almost one third of Leeds' tries.

At 30, Shelley, the prop who shelved a career in the food industry as well as an offer from Leicester to join Davies in building a vibrant new club, is at last reaping his reward. It is 12 years since his league debut in Northeast Division One with West Park Bramhope.

'I was one of the lost sons when they signed Phil as coach,' he said. 'I realised then that they were seriously ambitious and so I left West Hartlepool to come home.'

Quins, level at 23-23 after Will Greenwood's try going into the final 10 minutes, lost so much ball they ended up losing the bonus point for going down by seven or less. It was not much, but it would have doubled their points tally. It was not too hard to catch a smell of relegation about The Stoop.

'A season of discontent?,' said head coach- cum- chief executive Mark Evans. 'We've lost our first three games so it would be stupid to say everything will be fine. The fans are rightly unhappy.'