In the latest instalment of his outspoken weekly column, Sharks fan Joe Williams talks bad news, bragging rites and Bruno.

It's been a bad few weeks if you're a Sharks fan, some have even gone so far as to call it catastrophic.

I wouldn't go that far myself, but I certainly won't be dancing cartwheels or making any donations to the RFU in the foreseeable future.

The loss of Charlie, Big Ted and the Great White for the rest of the season really does have potentially damaging repercussions on our title-retention aspirations.

That all three were injured for nothing more than the pursuit of the filthy lucre just makes it all the more unpalatable.

Still, we shouldn't forget that we have a large and talented squad of the highest calibre and sufficient strength in depth to cover the losses.

There may well have to be some experimentation with personnel and some shuffling of the pack to achieve the right balance, but I'm sure given time the team will produce the goods and give those fans who aren't too easily pleased something to smile about in due course.

They say its an ill wind that blows no good - well, if memory serves me correctly, Charlie got his big break through some similar misfortune.

Maybe now is the opportunity for the likes of David Blair, David Tait (when fit) and Ben Lloyd to stake their claims for regular first team action and prove to the coaches that they've got what it takes.

Bryan (Brush) Redpath has been instrumental in trying this at Gloucester, bringing through the likes of Ryan Lamb and Anthony Allen with great success. We can only hope that we will have similar fortune.

After the disappointments of Bristol and the loss to Newcastle Falcons, Friday's game against Harlequins was crucial.

It was a must-win game for the coaches, but for me it was more important than that. My brother-in-law was up for the weekend and he's a Quins season ticket holder - the prospect of a couple of days of taunting was not particularly appealing!

The game itself promised much but didn't really deliver.

Given the physical and territorial dominance of our pack in the first half, we should really have put the game beyond doubt by half time. But handling errors, misplaced passes and aimless kicking meant we never capitalised on this dominance.

In the end the result was a little too close for comfort for the home crowd - still, a win's a win.

The good news was that our defence seemed to be back on form on the rare occasions that Quins got into our 22 and that Sebastien Bruno, our very own French pocket rocket, put in another storming performance.

He left the field battered and bruised but to a very well deserved ovation for both his man of the match winning display and for the fight that nearly was (he wheeled round his opposite number like a Spanish matador, pulling their shirt over their head; all that was missing was a face to punch. The man truly is a star).

The bad news unfortunately is that we suffered another injury setback, as if we needed more, when Nathan Bonner Evans was substituted with a broken finger.

To add to the woes it also transpired that Ben Evans has been cited for alleged stamping during the Falcons match and could face a lengthy ban if found guilty this week.

I accept that I might be biased and tend to see things through blue-tinted glasses, but I hope the citing commissioners play with a straight bat.

Other teams are also guilty of the occasional misdemeanour and some occasionally of deliberate foul play.

Nick Easter's attempt to try the soft shoe shuffle on the face of the prone Sebastien Chabal was more suited to a spot on Strictly Come Dancing than to a rugby field. I'd give him ten out of ten for technique.

Citing Officers, the casting vote is yours!