Dean Richards is confident Harlequins youngsters Danny Care and Adrian Jarvis will have learned a lot from the horror start that cost their side victory against Sale Sharks on Friday.

The pair suffered a shaky opening 10-minute spell, but recovered to help secure a bonus point in a 20-13 defeat at Edgley Park, where Sale are unbeaten since April last year.

Richards has given his side a licence to thrill in the second half of the season, but Jarvis's attempt to run the ball out of his own deadball area cost his side seven points.

The Stoop chief, while disappointed with the result, was delighted with the response of his young players, even though his side have still not won a game in 2008.

"We had a couple of opportunities to win the game towards the end so to come away without maximum points was a little disappointing," he said.

"We picked a young side against one full of internationals. The side matured during the course of the game and, when you consider not many teams get a point at Sale, it was a good effort.

"Everyone started nervously. Players gave penalties away in the wrong areas, which put us under a lot of pressure.

"The one thing we told them after the Leicester game was not to let their heads drop and they didn't."

Sale's Chris Jones opened the scoring with a try, but Jarvis responded to slot two penalties to bring his side to within a point at the break.

A fine second-half performance from Tom Guest earned him the man-of-the-match award as Tani Fuga applied the finishing touches to a driving lineout after Oriol Ripol's try had extended Sale's advantage.

But Richards singled out his front-row trio, who matched one including England prop Andrew Sheridan and boasting 47 international caps between them, for extra praise.

"Tom Guest had a fine performance, as did Adrian and Danny after the start," he added.

"Mike Ross and the rest of the front row were outstanding, but there were a number of good performances we can build on."