Can-can girls perform at the Stade de France before yesterday's Heineken Cup clash © Getty Images

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Match Pack: Quins score historic triumph over Stade Francais

Teams: England | Harlequins

Harlequins boss Dean Richards has warned his side to expect a fierce response from Stade Francais following his side's stunning Heineken Cup win in Paris on Saturday.

The Premiership side upset the formbook with a battling 15-10 triumph at a near-to-capacity Stade de France and as a result took control of Pool 4 and cemented their chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals for the first time since 1998.

Stade's defeat ended a run of 17 successive Heineken Cup home wins, while Quins had not recorded a victory in the tournament on French soil since beating Bourgoin 11 years ago. And Richards' side will face a stiff test of their title credentials when they play host to Stade at the Twickenham Stoop next Saturday in the return clash.

"The boys stood their ground and didn't give an inch. We will have to do exactly the same next week," said rugby director Richards. "This is one game of two. Next weekend is equally as important as this one. The importance of this game isn't the 76,000 people and the circus around it. It's about doing the same thing next week.

"We have to back it up with a win at The Stoop and by getting through the group. But they (Stade) will come back. They will feel wounded and will have all their guns blazing. It wasn't just about our defence, it was also about our discipline. We could have given away penalty after penalty, but we didn't.

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

Tom Williams and Jordan Turner-Hall scored first-half tries for Quins, but Stade reduced the deficit to 12-10 while England scrum-half Danny Care was sin-binned before Nick Evans' 67th-minute penalty sealed the deal.

Quins skipper Will Skinner added: "We didn't win a game (in the Heineken Cup) last season, but we gained a lot of experience. We learned a lot, and we are now winning these games when they are close at the end. People will have to start noticing us with the performances we are putting in."

Gloucester, albeit in the slightly less grandiose surroundings of Calvisano's 3,000-capacity Centro Sportivo San Michele, also enjoyed success on their travels, beating the Italian champions 40-17.

Gloucester's six-try triumph keeps them in touch with Pool Six leaders Cardiff Blues, and head coach Dean Ryan said: "I am satisfied with the outcome. We had to get a bonus point, and when you go into a game with that frame of mind you do things slightly differently from how you would normally. It's hard, because you are effectively chasing a game from the off, but we did what we had to do, got the job done and can now move forward to next week."

While Gloucester prepare to host Calvisano, Pool Three contenders the Ospreys will be in Italy for an appointment with Treviso, who were swamped in record fashion at the Liberty Stadium.

Ireland wing Tommy Bowe scored four of the Ospreys' 10 tries during a 68-8 romp - their biggest Heineken Cup victory - while fly-half James Hook kicked nine conversions. And the bad news for Treviso is that centre Gavin Henson could return from Achilles' tendon trouble next Saturday after missing Wales' entire autumn Test programme.

Ospreys' fellow Welsh challengers Newport Gwent Dragons, though, moved closer to making a European exit after losing 26-7 in Toulouse. Florian Fritz, Yannick Jauzion, Clement Poitrenaud and Maxime Medard scored tries for the Pool Five favourites.

Leinster kept control of Pool Two, preserving a six-point advantage over 2007 European champions Wasps after seeing off Castres 33-3 in Dublin, with Brian O'Driscoll featuring among their try-scorers.