Volley warns against Quins' expectation
Scrum.com
May 29, 2008

Retiring Harlequins captain Paul Volley has warned the club's supporters not to expect too much despite their qualification for next season's Heineken Cup.

Quins finished sixth in the Guinness Premiership and made it into the Heineken Cup when Bath - who had already qualified through their league position - defeated 10th-placed Worcester in the European Challenge Cup final.

And Volley, who is leaving the game for life in the City of London with recruitment firm Robert Walters, believes a young Quins side needs more time to mature.

"It would have been a nightmare had we not qualified for the Heineken Cup," Volley told the Streatham Guardian.

"A club like Quins needs top European rugby from a commercial and playing point of view.

"[Back rowers] Will Skinner, Chris Robshaw and Tom Guest have benefited from playing at the top level and it is important Quins continue to do that year on year.

"Deano [director of rugby Dean Richards] wants people prepared to go toe-to-toe with the opposition when the going gets tough.

"The coming season is going to be hard. The first season [after promotion] was about staying up and this year we have built on that.

"There are players who go through an entire career and don't get as close as this side did to the Premiership play-offs. The players have got to learn to go one step further than that.

"Other teams know Quins are not a soft touch any more."

Prop Mike Ross marked an impressive second season at the Stoop by playing for the Ireland XV in Tuesday's win over the Barbarians at Gloucester.

And Skinner will be alongside Quins club-mate Nick Easter in England's back row against the Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday.

© Scrum.com

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