Harlequins fly half Nick Evans has one medal he’d dearly love to have on his mantlepiece and might only have this season to claim it.
 

The 32-year-old New Zealander, who suffered a very rare off-day against Saracens last Sunday, is in the final year of his contract at the Stoop and already has Amlin Cup and Premiership winners medals in his collection from his five-year spell in the capital.
 

Quins are yet to make a significant impression in the Heineken Cup – although the doomed run to the quarter finals in 2009 certainly brought the club to the attention of rugby fans on the continent for all the wrong reasons.
 

Evans is yet to commit his immediate future to the club and has revealed extending his stay hangs on the amount of rugby he will be required to play as the twilight of his career approcahes.
 

That means it is likely understudies Rory Clegg, Ben Botica and new academy youngster Louis Grimoldby are likely to have to shoulder more of the workload if the mercurial Kiwi is to remain.
 

And the former All Black international admitted the time has almost come for those behind him in the pecking order to come out of his shadow – and that time might be next year.

“This the last year of my contract and there are a number of options open to me, but it has got to be right because this will probably be the last contract I sign,” he said.
 

“Things are going a little slower than I would have liked but there is no pressure to rush things. I’ve just go to take my time.
 

“I came to Quins to play every game – I played 28 games last season – and I love playing for the club, but it is time to be a little bit selfish and decide what is right for me, my body and my family.
 

“If I was going to go somewhere else and play the same amount of rugby as I do here I may as well stay with Quins. I love living in London and playing my rugby here.
 

“All three fly halves have fantastic qualities they can bring to the Quins style of rugby now and in the future.
 

“It is hard for them not playing an awful lot of rugby but I went through the same situation.
 

“Sometimes you learn as much from watching and really studying the game and how other players perform, as you do from playing the game.
 

“Their time will come.”
 

Quins, who have started the season where they left off in May, kick off their Heineken Cup campaign with the visit of Biarritz.
 

And while Evans would love to put another title in the trophy cabinet he insisted director of rugby Conor O’Shea’s men would not run before they could walk. 
 

“A Heineken Cup medal would look nice on the mantlepiece and would complete the collection,” said the Kiwi.
 

“But there is a long way to go in that competition.  We’ve got a tough group to get out of.  Biarritz are one of the giants of the French game so to get past them would be a hell of an achievement. We know what is ahead and it is a case of taking each step at a time.”