Quins come up short after Marler sees red
JOE Marler, at times a cantankerous individual, is prone to the odd brain fade but his red card offence against Sale may prove to be particularly costly.
Not only for Harlequins, who were undoubtedly hampered by the prop’s dismissal, but also for England, with the Six Nations less than a month away.
On this occasion it is hard to defend Marler, even if Quins’ director of rugby John Kingston did try. When a ruck was formed in the middle of the field with 20 minutes remaining, the 53-cap international appeared to dip his shoulder into the head of the defenceless TJ Ioane.
Provocation was not a mitigating factor either so, when referee Matthew Carley brandished the red card, few were surprised.
Marler will discover his fate soon enough. Australia tighthead Sekope Kepu was banned for three weeks earlier in the season for a no-arms clearout against Scotland but Marler’s previous record may count against him, despite Kingston querying the severity of the incident.
“This is not an isolated punch, stamp or kick, it’s a clearout that’s not legal and he’s taken somebody out without his arm,” he said. “It’s a physical game, an awful lot of people do that.
“He will be unbelievably disappointed and upset. Joe was having an unbelievable game as well. His form last week and today was outstanding.”
Kingston’s opposite number – Sharks’ boss Steve Diamond – had a different opinion, suggesting that it is a “part of the game we need to take out, where someone’s defenceless and you can knock them with your shoulder”.
The incident ultimately benefited Sale, although Quins gave them a fright, after a game which swung one way and then the other almost resulted in the visitors snatching the win.
Despite a bright Sale start where they went 14-0 up, Quins controlled much of this contest. The hosts were excellent in the opening 15 minutes and scored two well-worked tries from Byron McGuigan and Rohan Janse van Rensburg, but the away side recovered impeccably.
Alofa Alofa reduced the arrears, weaving his way to the line from close range, before AJ MacGinty, who would later go off with a serious-looking knee injury, briefly stemmed the tide with a penalty.
Quins were the better side, however, and creating opportunities but, for all their excellence, their second and third scores effectively came via mistakes from Diamond’s men.
First Charlie Walker pounced on a turnover to scamper over unopposed before a knock-on allowed Alofa to find space and send Ross Chisholm in.
Following Marcus Smith’s three-pointer just shy of the break, Harlequins had a 22-17 advantage – one they would hold until Marler’s mindless act.
It allowed Sale back into the game and, although they initially had to be content with a MacGinty effort off the tee, they had the space they needed to expose the visiting defence.
Jamie Roberts did secure a try bonus-point for Quins but Janse van Rensburg’s second touchdown and Faf de Klerk’s penalty gave the Sharks the win.
In a late surge by Quins Roberts looked to have gone over again, but, after consultation with the TMO, Carley ruled it out.