Harlequins director of rugby Conor O’Shea says fans should not expect youngsters George Lowe and Joe Marler to star for his men each week.

Prop Marler played his part in the penalty try that set Quins on their way to 23-12 triumph over Newcastle Falcons - capped by Tom Guest’s late score.

While Lowe - who has two Premiership tries scores this season to go with the seven he scored last term - came close to adding to his tally when he just failed to connect properly with Nick Evans’ crossfield kick.

The pair have made a major impact at the Stoop, but O’Conor has warned they need to be handled with kid gloves to ensure they are still terrorising opposition in five years time and beyond.

“People will be expecting Joe to be starting a lot games after what he has been doing, but it is up to us to manage that,” he said.

“We need to look after him and that is what is so good about having someone like Ceri Jones to mentor him. They can share the work load.

“We want to see guys like Joe and George in five or ten years time. We have to make sure they are not burnt out or overused.

“When you look at the fact we have young props like James Johnston, John Andress and Mark Lambert, it will be exciting to see what they can go on to achieve.”

The return to action of locks George Robson and Lewis Stevenson - and also prop John Andress - has given O’Shea a major boost ahead of the European programme.

Quins travel to Bayonne on Sunday before hosting Italian side I Cavalieri Estra and the Irishman is keen to build on the momentum gained from back-to-back Premiership wins.

“It is going to be a big challenge for us in France, but we want to go out and make a statement,” he added.

“it is good to see a number of our long term injured coming back in to contention at a time like this.

“People will get their chance over the next couple of weeks, but not just for the sake of it. It is a chance for people to put their hands up for selection.

“There are important games against Gloucester and Bath we need to prepare for, and places up for grabs in the starting line-up.

“Winning breeds confidence and it is important we take that through the next two games and beyond.”

Quins next three games: Oct 10 Bayonne (European Challenge Cup, a), 16 I Cavalieri Estra (European Challenge Cup, h), 23 Gloucester (a).