Easter lauds Quins' intensity

Editor

Harlequins number eight Nick Easter was delighted with the intensity his side showed in their 32-8 win over Racing Metro.

Harlequins number eight Nick Easter was delighted with the intensity his side showed in their 32-8 Heineken Cup win over Racing Metro.

Quins notched their first European victory of the season with the outstanding triumph in Nantes, bouncing back from an opening brace of defeats.

“We didn't think it would go that well,” said Easter.

“We're not a results-orientated side, we just wanted to put a good performance out on the park.

“We like to play with intensity and we came close to doing that for the full 80 minutes here. But we know how tough this pool is and now we have to back it up next week.

“We have been slowly building since the last Heineken Cup game at Clermont and we have rediscovered ourselves and our verve.”

Harlequins future in the tournament was under serious question after losses in the first two rounds to Scarlets and Clermont.

But the thumping victory at Stade de la Beaujoire and the performance to go with it put them back in contention for the next stage of the competition.

“We are backing each other all the time,” added Easter.

“Perhaps we got into a habit of losing.

“We like to play quite a high risk style of rugby so when things don't go well we weren't backing each other up.

“Now things are going well and our decision making of when to pass, when to offload or protect the ball, is much better.

“When you build that pressure, things start to happen and we have the players who can score, especially on a fast surface like we had here. Then you get a few wins under your belt and confidence soars.”