Sharks are made to pay for sloppy start at Quins
HARLEQUINS SALE 42 26 SALE paid the price for a lethargic start as they were well beaten by Harlequins last night.
But there was a plus for boss Steve Diamond as the Sharks were at least able to claim a bonus point after running in three tries in the final half hour.
“We need to get off the bus with the right mentality because we certainly didn’t do that,” said Sale’s director of rugby.
“I give the lads a lot of leeway in how we prepare for these away games but it didn’t work here.
“We don’t need coaches for the players, we need psychologists. It’s frustrating.
“At half-time we asked them to get the bonus point and they managed to do that. It’s a small consolation, but it’s better than nothing.
“Without mentioning any names, one or two of our players didn’t have the best games.
“For Harlequins Joe Marler, Chris Robshaw and Danny Care all played well and when your senior players play well you can expect to win.”
Quins emerged easy winners at the Stoop and had the bonus point banked when Tim Visser ran in his second try in the 48th minute as Sale slumped to a 10th successive Premiership defeat on the road.
A wayward pass from Smith to Aaron Morris wasted an early chance but Quins recovered quickly to strike for the first time in the 12th minute with a try born out of a turnover claimed by Robshaw.
It was Visser’s tackle-busting run infield that propelled Quins forward in scoring their second try, forwards arriving to carry at close quarters until Marler ploughed over from short range.
A feature of Quins’ game had been their harrying of Sale and the pressure was rewarded just after the first quarter had passed when Joe Marchant charged down AJ MacGinty’s clearance to cross.
With Smith kicking all three conversions, Sharks were facing the prospect of heavy defeat and responded by battering a path downfield led by number eight Josh Strauss until the ball was fed to Mike Haley who side-stepped his way over the line.
Visser crossed for a second time in a carbon copy of his first try, Care the provider once more, but Sale hit back when replacement prop Halani Auilka rumbled over from a maul before Sam James intercepted to sprint home from long range.
The Sharks secured the bonus point through prop Ross Harrison but Quins had the final say when Smith worked a gap for Yarde to touch down.