We came to win, says Gustard, it hurts to lose like this
DISAPPOINTED Quins coach Paul Gustard could only be philosophical following the hammering, Quins’ third defeat in a row in all competitions, which he described as not “good enough – and it hurts”.
He added: “For 30 per cent of the game we were in it. For the other 70 per cent we were second best.
“It’s frustrating because we came here with the ambition to win. We thought there was an opportunity and worked hard on our tackling. We scored three tries and created maybe another couple of opportunities.
“For the most part in the first half we actually defended pretty well. Our lineout functioned really well but we were under aerial pressure, winning our own ball. Our scrum was our Achilles’ heel in the first half. In the second half we turned that around and gained ascendancy.
“Unfortunately, our lineout suffered as a result and we lost three lineouts in a row – which cost us a bit of momentum, and Clermont hit a hot streak that really hurt us.”
Clermont fly-half Camille Lopez was delighted: “You win with five points, you can’t start better than that. And we hung on at the end so they didn’t get a (try-scoring) bonus because we know all points count.
“It was nice to play with that determination, that desire, with forwards and backs working together. We have to try to maintain that.”
But he refused to get carried away: “It’s the ideal start, but it’s just one match. There is more to come starting on Friday in Ireland (against Ulster).”