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Marcus Smith spoke of Harlequins’ relief after they ended their Investec Champions Cup jinx by defeating Glasgow 28-24 at The Stoop.
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Quins emerged from a second-half collapse to snatch victory through a 76th-minute Sam Riley try, winning a knockout match in Europe’s premier competition for the first time.
Smith was at the heart of a dominant first half, scoring a superb solo try and setting up two more to finish man of the match, and he admitted he had sympathy with club supporters who had been exposed to another white-knuckle ride.
“Fans complain they are always on the edge of their seats and whenever we are ahead we let the other team in and that is something we are trying to work on, the consistency,” Smith said.
“We are nowhere near where we want to be but we are in another knockout game in Europe which is where we want to be.
“It’s massive. In the last two years we have fallen down at this hurdle and it’s a monkey off our back. It has given us a lot of confidence.”
Quins head coach Danny Wilson admired the mettle shown by his players as they responded to Glasgow’s dominant third quarter that saw the visitors edge 24-21 back in front.
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“We had a period where we fed them with some errors and if you feed a dangerous team like Glasgow, who are full of Scottish internationals, experience and quality, they are going to hurt you,” Wilson said.
“And they did hurt us, but credit to this group they found a way to win. They dug deep to score that driving line out to win the game. Glasgow then had a brick wall in front of them at the end.
“We’re really pleased to get the win and to make history as a group by becoming the first Quins team to progress in the knockout phase of Europe. That’s something we’re proud of.”
Glasgow head coach Franco Smith admitted his side had allowed victory to slip from their grasp.
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“Unfortunately we gave the try just before half-time. We should have won that game,” Smith said.
