Harlequins claimed their third Premiership win in as many games this season with a 37-11 victory over Sale at the Stoop on Saturday.
Two tries in the first half set Quins on their way and a further brace late in the game re-asserted the hosts' authority and secured a bonus point win.
The men from the Stoop started the contest with real confidence and were ahead with less than a minute of the match played.
It was Ugo Monye's try that got Quins on their way, when he capitalised on an intense spell of instant pressure created from the kick-off to cross.
Nick Evans added the conversion but his side was pegged back by a Danny Cipriani goal on nine minutes.
And, when Richie Vernon crossed for an unconverted try despite spirited defensive efforts from George Robson and Tom Williams, Sale had the lead.
A shock never appeared to be on the cards though, and, when Evans offloaded to send Jordan Turner-Hall over the line for a converted try on 33 minutes, the advantage was back with Harlequins.
The third quarter of the match proved uneventful, with the the two sides trading penalty goals.
Three booted efforts from Evans stretched Quins' lead, though Cipriani was able to respond for Sale with a couple of his own to make it 23-14.
The Sharks headed into the final stages of the match with a glimmer of hope, but those hopes were shattered by two converted tries in the last ten minutes from the hosts.
Robson scored from a Mike Brown break for a try which Evans converted, and Quins rounded things off with another converted score on the final whistle from Brown following a tap penalty.
The scorers:
For Harlequins:
Tries: Monye, Turner-Hall, Robson,Brown
Cons: Evans 4
Pens: Evans 3
For Sale:
Try: Vernon
Pen: Cipriani 2
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Tom Williams, 13 George Lowe, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Guest, 5 George Robson, 4 Charlie Matthews, 3 James Johnston, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Darryl Marfo, 18 Will Collier, 19 Peter Browne, 20 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 Matt Hopper.
Sale: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Tom Brady, 13 Johnny Leota, 12 Sam Tuitupou, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Dwayne Peel, 8 Richie Vernon, 7 David Seymour (c), 6 James Gaskell,5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Joe Ward, 1 Eifion Lewis-Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Fraser McKenzie, 20 Mark Easter, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Nick Macleod, 23 Mark Jennings.
Referee: Llyr Apgeraint-Roberts
Assistant referees: Tim Wigglesworth, Robin Goodliffe
Comments
RugbyNut says...
The next three games might be tough but Quins should be up to it, maybe Tesh is right but we will know how good this team is come December! COYQ!
Posted 23:10 15th September 2012
Tesh says...
It's uphill from here, Leicester, Saracens and Exeter in a row. I hope we're up to it, but I reckon we'll come away with 1 from 3. But the boys surprise me more and more under o'Shea, so who knows
Posted 21:08 15th September 2012
ArmchairGeneral says...
How many tries does Robson have already this season!
Posted 18:11 15th September 2012