Paul Gustard says Harlequins fans can be proud of their team after they produced a remarkable comeback to beat Wasps at the Ricoh Arena.

Gustard’s side fought back from a 17-0 first-half deficit in Coventry, as tries from James Chisholm, Kyle Sinckler, Marcus Smith and Elia Elia sealed a memorable away day turnaround.

Quins now sit seventh in the Premiership table heading into the Christmas period, heaping further misery on Wasps who lie tenth with just six points.

And Gustard, who has at times come in for criticism this season after his side’s slow start, believes Quins fans have every right to celebrate an important festive triumph.

“After the first 20 minutes it was one-way traffic, and that’s down to the character of the players, which – if you’re a fan – you can be proud of,” he said.

“I know there’s been some criticism against us over the last three or four weeks, but I keep reiterating it – I believe in the players and I believe in the staff.

“They work really hard, it’s a great group of young men in there and we keep fighting for everything.

“I think it’s tremendous that the team can come back the way they did and show the resilience that they had.

“We didn’t play well in the first 15 minutes – we dropped off tackles, our game management was poor, we lost the set-piece, we knocked the ball on and we lost territory.

“But I’ve got belief in the team, and from our point of view, the boys are pretty happy.

“It’s been a good four or five weeks for us, not always in terms of results, but our performances are certainly up.”

Quins’ hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions Cup came to an end against Ulster last weekend, going down to a 34-10 defeat at Twickenham Stoop to direct their attention to domestic matters.

Gustard’s players have now won their last two matches in Premiership action, climbing the table and sitting just a solitary point away from the play-off places.

And they face Leicester Tigers at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday in their annual Big Game 12 fixture, with Gustard calling for a raucous home atmosphere when his players descend on the national stadium.

“We implore everyone to come to the big game – it’s a tremendous experience, and I’ve been very privileged to watch a few and be a coach in one,” he added.

“It’s our signature event, and we want 82,000 people screaming away and cheering us on because it puts us on a really good platform for next year.

“It’s an important game, but we’ll enjoy Christmas with our families first and then get back to work.”