This weekend could be crucial to the quarter-final qualification hopes of French big-hitters Stade Francais Paris, and club captian Sergio Parisse knows it.
Stade Français Paris attracted a record Heineken Cup Pool match attendance of 76,569 for their clash with Harlequins at Stade de France last Saturday - but the Quins spoiled the Parisian party arranged by president Max Guazzini with their 15-10 victory.
It was only the second time the Paris club had lost a home tournament Pool or quarter-final match in 33 fixtures and they now trail Harlequins by three points in Pool 4 as they prepare for their trip to the Twickenham Stoop on Saturday evening.
"Despite the loss we are eager to prepare for the return leg this weekend," said Parisse.
"We are looking to get the points we need away from home and, if we have to do it on the road, then so be it. We are up for the challenge and, as we clinched a good win away in Ulster, I don't see why we couldn't succeed again away from home.
"We are sorry for our president - who put a great show together in a great arena - and for our fans who came in such huge numbers to see us. It would have been a special occasion to have won at Stade de France but now we need to focus on what comes next wherever it takes place.
"We are extremely disappointed from a results point of view and sporting performance but also for the event itself.
"At times we were weak in the major areas of the game, at the scrums and line-outs, but our scrum wasn't that bad considering how strong the Quins' pack can be and their solid defence at the line-out and their counter attack disturbed us a lot.
"Those are two areas to work on for next weekend and we'll have to look for solutions to respond to that in the future.
"And the fact that we played at Stade de France didn't put extra pressure on our shoulders since we are used to playing there. We are the only ones who can have an impact on our own fate, it's down to us to do the work necessary during our preparation and we have to be in control of what we do on the day.
"The Quins are a very good team and have a strong defence and it was difficult to start the game by conceding two tries and be led 12-0 - especially in a Heineken Cup game against a team like the Harlequins. It was hard to handle and we struggled trying to come back.
"We managed to play more in the second half, we tried other options and moved the ball about. We had better intentions but we didn't use the ball as best as we could. And it was frustrating because we knew that until the end anything was possible and we could have won the game.
"We still have a lot to work on and we'll learn from the experience.
"Sometimes, it is clear that we make things more complicated for ourselves than necessary. We'll have to go and get the qualification away in London now and, although it is not impossible, it will be very hard.
"We made a lot of technical errors - sometimes small details - and although we had some good actions our finishing let us down. We did not convert our efforts into points, particularly in the second half.
