Paul Gustard feels that Harlequins’ match against London Irish is the perfect way to tinker with a few things.

Quins started the new season strongly with a 24-12 victory over Bristol Bears last Friday and travel to Reading on Saturday to face the newly promoted London Irish in the Premiership Rugby Cup.

But in spite of the good result, Gustard believes that there is certainly room for improvement at the campaign’s nascent stage.

“Unfortunately, of course our overall momentum and opportunity to exert consistent pressure was hindered because of the mistakes we made with the ball in hand which is why the players feel frustrated as we left some great try scoring situations out there,” he said.

“We don’t mind skill errors at the Club, as we want to encourage the players to make positive choices within our attack, and I’m confident we will continue to improve in that area.

“I know our tight five were very reflective of their performance in the set piece at the weekend and subsequently have been first class with their attitude, honesty and work ethic this week."

"We will, I am sure, see a reaction that would reflect their levels of accuracy in training. The London Irish game is a chance to keep building and fine-tune a few things.”

Two bright sparks to come out of a triumph spurred on by fresh faces was the performances of a pair of new signings.

Both Will Evans and Brett Herron shone on debut, staking their claims for what promises to be a busy season ahead.

“I thought Will Evans was outstanding,” he continued.

“He made 19 tackles, and missed none, created two turnovers and carried the ball with real intent.

“I’ve always liked him as a player, from when I first came across him in the EPS back in 2016 as an England coach, to current day. He has had a stellar pre-season and I am excited for him as he looks to progress in his career.”

“There were other players on debut who impressed me too. Brett Herron did really well at ten.

“He was really calm and brought our attack to life with some lovely passes and defended very well too.

“I watched a lot of him last year after he performed so well against us in pre-season and know he will be a quality addition to the squad.”