HARLEQUINS won't be tempted to hold an extra games away from The Stoop, despite setting a new world record for a domestic rugby crowd in Tuesday's loss to Saracens.
A stunning 82,000 packed into Twickenham for the game, beating by some 400 the previous record set by Leicester and London Irish in the 2009 Premiership Final, also at HQ.
By way of contrast, Quins can get little more than 14,000 in at The Stoop, and teams like London rivals Wasps have already experimented with taking games to places like Abu Dhabi.
But Quins chief executive David Ellis insists he is more interested in turning some of the extra thousands at Twickenham on Tuesday into regulars rather than taking more games on the road.
He said: “The Stoop is our home and where we are at. We don't want to get carried away trying to play more games away from there. You have to remember, it was a one-off game for some, as the Big Game has become a festive tradtition. Our challenge is to turn those people into regular fans, and perhaps then we can ask questions about expanding The Stoop.
“But it was lovely to get the recognition through such a big crowd for the hard work our off the pitch team have done. Looking at all those families in the crowd before the game, you couldn't help but smile. We wanted to showcase to them what they can get at The Stoop every other week.
“So it was a day of mixed emotions. I was very proud of what we achieved, but it was also disappointing to finally lose our unbeaten league record.”
A try from former Quins man David Strettle, plus 14 points from the boot of Owen Farrell, ensured Quins would not make it 15 league wins on the spin, despite a Joe Marler try and two Nick Evans penalties.
