Harlequins are gearing up for a ‘cup final’ when they visit France in the European Rugby Challenge Cup, but centre Matt Hopper is convinced his side is more than up to the task.

Defeat to Edinburgh Rugby last time out was a rare Stoop defeat for John Kingston’s side, with the Scottish side leapfrogging them to top spot in Pool 5.

More significantly, it’s a result that has left Quins precariously placed in their battle for the quarter-finals, second in the pool with just one game remaining.

But with the three best runners-up joining the five group winners in the last eight, the equation is simple – a win inParis against Stade Français and they qualify.

But for a side who have won just twice away from home in all competitions this season, it’s a task set to be easier said than done, though their French opponents suffered defeat to Toulouse in their last home outing.

And despite the difficulty of the task, Hopper is confident Quins can step up and keep their Challenge Cup hopes alive.

“We’ve reacted really well to the Edinburgh defeat in training, everybody knows the task that is in front and we’ve got a different feel in the camp,” he said.

“There’s a massive knockout rugby feel, it is effectively our cup final and we know what we’ve got to do, and that’s win the game of rugby.

“More often than not you get another chance, and after our defeat we’re lucky enough that we have that – so long as we make the most of it. We’ve tried to learn the lessons of it and now we can look forward to the next task.

“It’s a tough game, but I’ve been lucky enough to play a few games in France and there’s always a great deal of excitement from which we’ve traditionally done well, so we’re hoping to replicate that.”

While Harlequins are well into the crux of their season, Hopper’s has not quite got going as much as he would have liked.

That’s in a large part due to various injuries that have plagued his season, unable to hit the 1,000 minutes he notched in three of his four previous seasons at the Stoop, with just 120 to his name so far.

But with a rare starting berth to come in France, the centre is hoping this is the time for the second half of his season to kick-start, desperate to make his mark on the team.

“It’s always nice to be starting for the first team – it’s been an up and down season with injury and selection, but I couldn’t be happier to be back and I’m thoroughly looking forward to it,” he added.

“You can never say you’re expecting it to come, but I’ve been working hard and got my head down since coming back from injury to try and make these moments happen.

“I’ve been back for about a month, had a couple of games on the bench, but everyone has to suffer injuries and it’s part and parcel of the sport – this just happened to be my time and hopefully I can come back fitter and stronger.

“It’s tough coming back, but you have to make the most of your chances when they do come. There are no excuses for anything else.”