By Charlie Henderson

Richard Hill wants Heineken Cup success for Bristol

Bristol boss Richard Hill says the Heineken Cup is his team's top priority this season after beating Harlequins.

The win means Bristol are pushing Stade Francais and Cardiff hard in Pool Three and Hill wants to finish first as second does not guarantee progression.

"There is a realistic chance of doing something special," he told BBC Sport.

"In some groups it can be a bit easier, but ours is going to be a keenly contested group and all three of us have a great chance of going through."

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Bristol are the only one of the four sides in the pool to have won away and sit third in the table on eight points, level with Cardiff Blues and a point behind Stade Francais.

It is the tightest of the six pools and Bristol's players were frustrated not to seal a bonus-point fourth try after outplaying a woeful Harlequins side in a 17-3 victory.

But Hill was happy to pick up points on the road and keep the momentum going in a competition he clearly relishes.

It's almost like sudden death so you get a cup preparation and there's an edge to it Richard Hill

"It was a very important win for us because it was the Heineken Cup, but also because we hadn't won away from home in any competition since January," he said.

"That was beginning to play on the mind just a little and you begin to wonder when you've had that run away from home how you're going to win, but it's put us in a very good position."

Bristol go into Sunday's return fixture against Harlequins in confident mood knowing another win would put them at least second in the pool with two games to go - away to Stade and at home to the Blues.

But in such a tight group the onus is to go through in first.

The six pool winners and two best runners-up qualify for the next stage and while Stade Francais prospered as pool winners in 2004 with a record low 18 points, the average haul for top-spot qualifiers is a touch more than 23.

In the four seasons since four points have been awarded for a win and bonus points have come into play, 21 points has always guaranteed progress, which means Bristol cannot afford to slip up as they chase a last-eight berth.

The combative Hill expects it to go to the last game and is enjoying the Heineken Cup's "do-or-die" nature.

"It's so different from a normal league game. It's almost like sudden death so you get a cup preparation and there's an edge to it," he added.

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"You can't afford to lose, it's as simple as that, and it's interesting now we're involved in the Heineken Cup how different the preparation is.

"There's a different atmosphere in training in the lead up to games which has been really good and which is why we're all desperate to keep it going because it's been exciting.

"In a league campaign if you lose you've got another match coming up and it's over 22 games.

"At Bath in the old days, whenever we were involved in the cup competitions there was something different about it.

"You're up for it, the crowd get up for it and, just as there was at home to Stade Francais, there's a real buzz.

"You can sense that the crowd are excited by it, the players are excited and the preparation is more intense.

"The contact's a bit harder, people are concentrating more, preparing slightly more and that's why you have to be involved in this competition because it makes you study a little bit harder, particularly if you're playing opponents who you don't normally play."

No wonder Hill was underwhelmed at drawing Harlequins, but he is the first to admit that in this instance familiarity could breed success.

A line in Saturday's programme said Bristol would be used to the Stoop having played there in pre-season as well as the league in the last three-and-a-half months. So it proved.

"Everyone would have preferred to have three different type of opponents," said Hill.

"But having said that, there's no doubt that coming and doing the routine of staying in the hotel and coming to the ground we were a lot more familiar with the surroundings and it certainly helped us.

There'll be a big campaign to get the Memorial Stadium full with horrible Bristolians to make life very uncomfortable for Harlequins Richard Hill

"We won't let this one slip at the Memorial Stadium. The training will be excellent and we'll make sure we'll finish the job next week.

"We were going to give this equal importance as the Guinness Premiership, but because our league form has not been as good as we would have liked this is probably the most important competition for us now."

And to that end Hill hopes for a home crowd bristling with fervour on Sunday to help ensure Bristol brush Quins aside and reach 2008 with a chance of claiming that top spot.

"It means a lot for the whole club as we're trying to build on and off the field and we need big crowds, big revenue and the interest kept up," he added.

"There'll be a big campaign to get that Memorial Stadium full with horrible Bristolians to make life very uncomfortable for Harlequins when they come up.

"We want that place absolutely rammed because this has given us a real chance to progress."