Deano upbeat despite dedeat

Harlequins Director of Rugby Dean Richards insists his side's European campaign has been a valuable experience.

Richards points to positives

Harlequins Director of Rugby Dean Richards insists his side's European campaign has been a valuable experience despite the Quins finishing with just two points from six Heineken Cup games. Quins lost 31-10 at home to Stade Francais on Sunday but an upbeat Richards said: "There's a huge amount of positives. "We went into today's game with nothing to lose and everything to gain by playing some rugby. "We didn't get the tries that we wanted - three times it went to the video referee - and they were all opportunities that we should have converted. "But if we were not creating I would be far more worried. This group has been a great learning curve.

Young

"We have a relatively young side and we knew we were up against it. It was always going to be difficult for us to progress bearing in mind we were up against Cardiff, Stade Francais and Bristol. "We wanted to get as much experience as we can and what we learnt is that you can't afford to turn over the ball in key areas. If they get a sniff they crucify you." England wing David Strettle was rested from the game, while back row ace Nick Easter was left out after tweaking his knee again in training on Friday. "We've drawn a line under this now," added Richards. "We're into the business end of the season now and we can concentrate on the league and solely on the league. "We set out our stall to finish in a higher position than we did last year."