Easter tells Quins they need a ruthless streak to have final say

Nick Easter believes his Harlequins team-mates have to produce their most clinical performance of the season to defeat Stade Francais in Friday night's Amlin Challenge Cup Final.

The England No8 recognises Quins cannot afford to make the kind of errors which undermined their Premiership campaign and saw them finish one place outside a Heineken Cup spot in seventh.

Victory at Cardiff City Stadium would see them play in Europe's top competition next season but if they lose they will still qualify providing Northampton defeat Leinster in Saturday's Heineken Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium.

Quins collected eight losing bonus points in the Premiership for being within at least seven points of the opposition, which highlights how close they were to finishing higher up the table.

While bad luck did play a part, ultimately, responsibility lay with the players - including Easter. He said: "It's a fact that we haven't been clinical. There were three or four games we should have won and created enough chances without taking them. It is an aspect of our play we've talked about.

"We have been pretty poor when it comes to the tight scraps. It's something we have to sort out for next season and this final is a good place to start getting it right. There is a balance to be struck between risk and reward and we cannot afford to force the pass under pressure."

Quins and Saracens had the meanest defences in the Premiership, conceding just 26 tries each. The Quins style of play - keeping the pace high with backs and forwards passing before contact -requires accuracy which has been letting them down at key points.

"We need to ensure there is balance with a Plan B and Plan C but at the same time we don't want the players to become fearful and limit their ambition because we have exciting backs with lots of pace," said Easter. "Sometimes, players can shut off in a final and start playing the territory game and Quins are all about bringing our game to the biggest stages."

Easter dismisses the notion that Stade's poor domestic form - they finished 11th in the Top 14 - means they will be vulnerable and with players such as England's James Haskell and Tom Palmer, Italy captain Sergio Parisse and French stars Lionel Beauxis and Matthieu Bastareaud, it will require a repeat of the heroics Quins showed defeating Munster 20-12 at Thomond Park in the semi-finals.

Easter added: "This is Stade's only chance of qualifying for next season's Heineken Cup and also a chance to finish the season with silverware, so we share the same motivation. This will be my final game before a break and like everyone in this squad, I am going to leave everything out on that pitch."

Nick Easter was speaking at BIBA 2011 in Manchester on behalf of QBE, official insurance partner of England Rugby. For more information visit www.qberugby.com