Richards hails growing side

The Londoners maintained their unbeaten start to their Heineken Cup Pool Four campaign by pooping the Parisians' party in front of 76,569 spectators at the Stade de France.

Asked if it was the best result during his time at Quins, Richards said: "It is right up there. It is not just the defence we had but also the discipline. We could have given away penalty after penalty but we didn't. A lot of the boys grew up here."

He added: "We most probably would have lost this game last year. It's a hugely important game and we played outstandingly well.

"We have a huge amount of talent, and there are young boys out there. They are growing up quickly and will learn from matches like this."

The pre-match entertainment at France's national stadium included pom-pom girls, a medieval parade, gymnastic firemen and dancers from the Moulin Rouge.

But Quins managed to subdue the crowd by racing into a 12-0 lead by the 25th minute thanks to tries by Tom Williams and Jordan Turner-Hall, as well as Nick Evans' conversion.

While Danny Care was in the sin-bin, Stade scored 10 points through Juan Manuel Leguizamon's try and a conversion and penalty by his Argentina team-mate Juan Martin Hernandez.

But after Evans had slotted home a penalty in the 67th minute, the visitors ground out the victory with some stout, last-ditch defending on their own line.

"We warned the boys as to what to expect and we had to maintain our focus," said Richards, whose side welcome Stade to the Stoop next weekend. "The boys stood their ground and didn't give an inch, and we will have to do exactly the same next week. This is one game of two. Next week is equally as important as this."