Harlequins boss Dean Richards has backed winger Ugo Monye to make a huge impact for England in this autumn's internationals.

The 25-year-old has been called up by Martin Johnson as a replacement for the injured James Simpson-Daniel following some blistering form this season, including nine tries in nine starts.

That followed the three tries in three appearances he bagged with England Saxons over the summer.

And Richards reckons Monye deserves his chance to start in next Saturday's opener against the Pacific Islanders.

"I would like think Ugo would be given a chance," said Richards. "He has been playing well and scored some tries you wouldn't expect others to score.

"We feel he deserves his chance. Now it's up to him to take it."

Monye has impressed Richards since bursting on to the scene in 2002 and remembers him scoring an outstanding 70m try against Leicester four years ago, when Richards was boss at Welford Road.

And he was surprised that Monye hadn't already been capped when he took over at the Stoop three years ago.

Richards said: "When Ugo first came onto the scene he was tipped to be playing for England within two years. It was a surprise to me when I came here in 2005 that he wasn't. "Sometimes you can get drawn into a position where you don't push for it because it hasn't happened.

"Now he has become far more ambitious, and the way we play suits him. He has come into his own, and that is why England are looking at him.

"He has remained injury-free, and as a result of that he's got a consistency to his game that he hasn't had in years."

Nick Easter has also been put on stand-by for an England recall as a precaution should Luke Narraway fail to recover from a hamstring injury.

And Richards is pleased that there has been much more dialogue with the England coaching set-up since Johnson has taken up the reins.

He said: "There is more dialogue now than there has been in the last few years.

"I have spoken to Jonno twice, and John Wells, in the last few days. I think it is vitally important they keep in touch with the coaches to get an understanding of how players are and what their form is like.

"England can glean a huge amount of information from us, and we get feedback from them too, so it is working well both ways."

A second-string Quins side succumbed to a second home defeat to London Irish in a month to end their slim hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals of the EDF Cup last Saturday.

Quins led 17-5 at one point thanks to tries from George Robson, Charlie Amesbury and stand-in captain Neil McMillan.

But they fell away badly soon after the sin-binning of replacement hooker Ignacio Elosu, conceding four tries to lose 32-17.

Richards added: "We found it difficult to adapt to the referee's interpretation at scrum-time, and as a consequence we could not get the platform we wanted.

"And with a couple of other decisions we couldn't get our heads around, we found ourselves a little bit more indisciplined than usual.

"We lost the penalty count 16-9, and it cost us dear.

"We saw it as a great opportunity for our youngsters to show us what they've got, and some played very well for us today.

"I thought Neil McMillan, James Percival, and Seb Stegmann played very well, as did Tommy Williams."

The defeat means Quins game with Worcester on Sunday is a dead-rubber.