Leeds were given a painful lesson during their 46-11 defeat at Harlequins on Saturday according to head coach Neil Back.
Coach says Leeds can bounce back
Leeds were given a painful lesson during their 46-11 defeat at Harlequins on Saturday, according to head coach Neil Back.
The Yorkshiremen's bid to survive relegation from the Guinness Premiership suffered a serious set back as Quins ran in six tries at the Stoop.
The hosts made their rivals pay for the 61st-minute sin-binning of Leeds lock Calum Clark, scoring four tries in a nine-minute spell.
"Discipline is always key," said Back "And we had a couple of bits of ill-discipline down to the fact you've got a young player trying his best and trying everything he can.
"But he did some silly things and the 10 minutes that player was on the bench was catastrophic."
Back however, insisted that his men were more than capable of bouncing back and described the defeat as a 'blip'.
"It's disappointing for the squad," he added. "But it's not a reflection of where Leeds Carnegie rugby are. That won't happen again - we can't afford it to happen again.
"We're almost guilty of trying too hard. The players are desperate to consolidate our position in the Premiership.
"They played as individuals towards the back end of that game and made errors. Quins were smart and streetwise in the dark arts but it's one we'll learn from.
"London Irish is our next objective but today was very much a blip. We've not lost our shape. We've kept our composure. Physically, we've competed. We had a platform to play off, however we've made too many mistakes chasing the game.
"Players tried too hard to remedy it for themselves rather than sticking to the plan."
The bonus-point victory kept alive Harlequins', albeit slim, chances of a top-six finish and Heineken Cup qualification.
'Big ask'
But Conor O'Shea, director of rugby at the London club, refused to get carried away with the result.
He said: "We're up to seventh but it's a big ask - Saracens away, Leicester away and Sale at home."
"Last week we created a lot of try-scoring opportunities but didn't take them.
"This week we were on the wrong end of a 17-11 penalty count which for a team that was dominant is pretty surprising to say the least but we can only control what we have ourselves.
"I thought we were quite passive in the first half in our defence but, not being patronising in any way, Leeds are a good rugby side and, as Backy said to me, that's the first time that has happened to them this season.
"Sin-binnings are a massive part of the game and we were ruthless in that period and scored the tries - we have a lot of gas in our back line.
"If a few things start to stick, that's rugby... You get a bit of confidence and hopefully that will be the way the team will approach the rest of the season."
