NEC Harlequins rugby director Dean Richards has vowed his team will not repeat the errors he says cost them maximum points against London Irish on Saturday.

The Stoop outfit went down 20-19 to a last-minute Riki Flutey penalty on their Guinness Premiership return at Twickenham, after Ceri Jones's controversial try from close quarters looked to have sealed the win.

The club's last season among England's elite was characterised by several late defeats snatched from the jaws of victory, and Richards believes his squad must learn quickly from the weekend's experience.

"We should have won and could have won. Both sides would have been disappointed if they had lost and unfortunately it was us," he said.

"We have to learn how to win tight games at this level. We had three opportunities to clear our lines in the last five minutes and didn't take them.

"The players have sat down and talked about it.

"The execution of certain things wasn't quite right.

"I felt we competed all the way through and, in some ways, we shot ourselves in the foot.

"We shouldn't make the same mistakes again."

Kiwi fly-half Andrew Mehrtens was forced out of the opening-day clash with a knee injury but his deputy Adrian Jarvis ably filled in to put his side into an early 6-0 lead.

Debutant Stuart Abbott, who enjoyed a mixed day for his new club, allowed Irish back into the game when he was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle, before Topsy Ojo capitalised from some weak tackling to give Irish the lead.

Two Jarvis penalties made the score 12-8 at half-time, but Flutey responded with a cheeky drop goal and a penalty before potting two more kicks to break Quins' hearts.

New signings Paul Volley and Nicolas Spanghero impressed in slippery conditions as Richards' men claimed the consolation of a bonus point from a game short on free-flowing rugby.

And the former England number eight believes there is more to come from his side once teething troubles are put right.

"I was surprised the game didn't open up as much as it could have done, and we thought they would come at us a bit more," Richards said.

"I think both sides showed they are capable of a lot more.

"Our scrum performed well against a strong Irish pack that didn't cause as many problems as we thought they might."

Mehrtens, whose experience in closing out games was sorely missed on Saturday, is expected to be available for Saturday's home clash against Gloucester - another stern test of Quins' Premiership credentials.

"It is going to be a hard game, we are under no illusions about that," added Richards.