Harlequins coach frustrated at ‘massive decision’ which ‘went against us’ while providing concerning injury update on England player
Danny Wilson was left frustrated after the narrow defeat to Sale Sharks
Harlequins head coach Danny Wilson was left thinking what could have been after his side’s narrow 12-11 defeat to Sale Sharks on Sunday.
Quins were on the back foot for large parts of the match, but they scored the game’s only try through Jack Walker and could easily have had another two if things had gone differently.
“It was not to be”
Wilson’s side nearly took the lead in the fifth minute of the game; however just as they looked to deliver the killer blow, Stephen Lewies spilled the ball and the chance went begging.
This wasn’t their only gilt-edged opportunity either. Later in the game, flanker Jack Kenningham cleverly leapt over the ruck in an attempt to score; but he was adjudged to have been held up over the line after the TMO’s intervention.
Kenningham’s non-try was certainly a pivotal factor in the outcome of the fixture, and boss Wilson said this was something that ‘went against’ his team.
“I thought we had scored from Jack Kenningham’s touchdown and that went against us,” he told the media after the game.
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“It was not to be and I knew that decision was going to be massive in a game where there weren’t many chances.”
Error-strewn game
The match certainly wasn’t the prettiest of spectacles, with the conditions taking their toll on proceedings.
“Once the weather set in before the game, there was quite a bit of wind and rain. That made the surface really greasy and early on in the game there was a fair amount of handling errors,” Wilson said.
Defence has always been an issue for Harlequins; however they were able to thwart plenty of Sale attacks and prevented them crossing the whitewash for the entire 80 minutes.
Commenting on this, Wilson said he was pleased with his team’s efforts on that side of the ball.
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“Ultimately we lost the game, but I was really pleased with how physical we were defensively,” he said.
He added: “I thought we knocked them back and won the physical battle, which is a very tough place to come and do that.”
Update on Alex Dombrandt
To rub salt into his wounds, Wilson could be without skipper Alex Dombrandt for a while as he is set for an X-ray on a hand injury.
The England number eight – who was named club captain earlier this month – had his hand heavily strapped during the game, and he came off early into the second-half.
“He (Alex Dombrandt) had to come off, and we now need to get him X-rayed and scanned.”
At the time of writing, the extent of the injury or any possible return date is currently unknown; but it does put him in doubt for Harlequins’ game against Newcastle Falcons next weekend.
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