Cornwell was talking after the 36-26 reverse at the Stoop when Gloucester dug deep after being subjected to a first half performance from the home side which left him impressed.
"Quins were a bit of an eye opener to be honest. They played with real tempo and were quick and efficient. Their passing was crisp and sharp and they ran some good lines."
"We probably didn't help ourselves in that opening half hour as we made a couple of errors trying things when we could have been more circumspect."
"However, that's not what we're about in the A League this season. We want the players to express themselves and try to improve in these fixtures."
"It's not like the Aviva Premiership where the result is all important. We obviously want to win but we really want to achieve some positives outcomes from every game."
"We're not just turning up merely to fulfil the fixture, we want to get something out of the game."
After a tough first half, Cornwell was impressed by his side's fortitude when it would have been only too easy to fall to a heavy defeat.
"Allan (Lewis) and myself encouraged the boys to keep working hard and to keep playing rugby. And we did start to gel and work our way through a few phases."
"Henry Trinder took a great line off a Peter Buxton pass to go in under the posts and we kicked on from there really."
"Bucko was excellent on the night. His attitude and his work rate were absolutely spot on and he was a great example for someone like Matt Cox."
"Matt also caught the eye. He stuck at it, worked hard and tackled his heart out. He's a dog of a player in the nicest possible way."
Some of Gloucester's young prospects also took the opportunity to stake a claim.
"For the second game in a row, Henry Trinder and Jonny May were excellent. The Irish game was tough because of the heavy rain but they looked really dangerous at Quins."
"And Dan Robson got his first run out when he came off the bench. He livened things up and moved the ball quickly."
So, despite the two defeats, plenty of positives to work with?
"Absolutely. These games are ideal to develop our younger Academy players but also give some valuable game time to first teamers on their way back from injury for example."
"We can get a lot out of these fixtures and that's what we intend to do."
