O’Shea hails Quins’ mental toughness

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Harlequins director of rugby Conor O’Shea has praised his youngsters for their mental strength.

O’Shea’s side pushed Saracens close in the opening round of the LV= Cup on Sunday.

They trailed 15-3 at the break but responded with a superb second-half performance to narrow the gap to 25-20, and could have snatched victory at the end only to fall short in the final attack of the match.

They still earned a losing bonus point which could be pivotal when the pool phase is decided.

O’Shea said: “Every time we got ourselves back into the game they got a soft score.

“But I think a lot of young guys mentally answered a few questions out there, which is as much as you want.

“There were a huge number of positives to take from the game.

“Seven of our pack were under 25 and they just grew and grew into the game.

“It was really nice to see [new signing] Tim Swiel come on and make a positive impact, he looks a very tidy player to have while Ben Botica is injured.

“I’m happy with the mental toughness of the players to not chuck in the towel, they easily could have but they played really well second half.”

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