Dean Richards has urged England manager Martin Johnson to name Harlequins captain Will Skinner in the England squad.
Coach confident heading into quarter-finals
Dean Richards has urged England manager Martin Johnson to name Harlequins captain Will Skinner as a replacement for injured flanker Lewis Moody.
Skinner led another impressive back-row effort at The Stoop as Harlequins completed a bonus-point 29-24 victory over the Scarlets.
Skinner is the only member of the Quins back row to be omitted from England's leading 64 players, with Nick Easter in the senior squad while Tom Guest and Chris Robshaw are both in the Saxons.
But Richards said: "Will Skinner epitomises what a seven is all about and he is right on top of his game at the moment.
"There is a balance you have to have on a back row and I don't think we have had that balance at international level in the back row recently.
"From what I understand of the way England want to play, I think Will Skinner would suit that right down the line."
As for the match itself, Richards added: "I thought Chris Robshaw played extremely well. Tom Guest's contribution as soon as he came off the bench was telling," said Richards.
"We will be without Nick Easter for the next six or seven weeks (with England) and Tom can play to the highest level. He is in the Saxons squad and he has the ability to play to the top level.
"We have got five or six quality back-row forwards who on their day can mix it with the best, not just in Europe but the world."
Quins reached the quarter-finals with five wins from six, including back-to-back victories over Stade Francais.
Richards continued: "I said last year not to expect too much from us purely because we were very young as a team and quite naive when it came to playing in big matches and big venues.
"We have a lot more experience in the side now because the guys have progressed and matured as players and we have brought some in as well.
"Danny Care, Nick Easter, Mike Brown, Ugo Monye - they have been on England tours and played in front of 80,000 at Twickenham. Gonzalo Tiesi has played in a World Cup up to the semi-finals.
"We are a year older and a year more mature and it makes a big difference in terms of their understanding and confidence."
