Centurion Smith sinks Sale

Sale Sharks……13

Tries: James 16

Conversions: Du Preez 16

Penalties: Du Preez 21, 47

Harlequins…..29

Tries: David 11, Smith 38

Conversions: Smith 12, 40

Penalties: Smith 24, 45, 54, 64, 71

By Nick Powell, Digital Editor

Sale Sharks' unbeaten start to the season was brought to an abrupt end as a Marcus Smith-inspired Harlequins produced a mature performance to win comfortably at the AJ Bell Stadium.

Quins drew first blood as Nick David scored a terrific try after a pinpoint kick from Smith, and though Sale hit back through a well-taken counter-attacking try finished by Sam James, Smith turned scorer on the stroke of half-time to give the visitors a 17-10 lead at the break.

After the sides exchanged penalties early in the second-half, Smith added a further nine points off the tee to take the game beyond the Sharks, and Joe Carpenter had a late try ruled out to cap a miserable day for the hosts.

Smith scored 24 points on his 100th Premiership appearance, winning man of the match as he became the youngest player to ever reach that milestone.

He said: “We haven't had much success over the years up here, it's a tough place to come and they've started the season off brilliantly.

“So we dug deep today, I thought the forwards gave us a good platform and that was really important for us.

“The way they managed the scrum and lineout, they gave us good front foot ball and when it's on we like to play.

“On the back of the last few weeks I found it pretty tough, and I've really looked at myself this week to try and drive the team with my actions. I think I did that a little bit today and it's a pleasure and an honour to play with these boys. I love it.”

Matson masterclass shocks Sharks

Though Quins boss Tabai Matson has by no means been under any pressure since taking the reins at The Stoop in September last year, he appeared deeply concerned after last week's defeat to Leicester Tigers, in a performance he described as the worst of his tenure.

Coming up against a team that plays a somewhat similar style of rugby to Tigers was always going to be a challenge, but one he met head-on by making smart tactical changes to Quins' gameplan.

Defensively Quins were strong round the fringes of the ruck and targeted turnovers through counter-rucking instead of jackling as they had against Leicester, whilst offensively they looked for chip kicks, sniping runs and quick passes before contact to exploit Sale's line-speed.

For their first try, it was a snipe from Danny Care that then set Marcus Smith free, and his perfectly weighted kick fed David in the corner, before Smith's rapid hands put Joe Marchant into space to give the Londoners the front foot ball that the fly-half eventually profited from.

Some aimless kicking from Smith – one of which led directly to Sale's equalising try – didn't work as well, but it showed Quins' willingness to try new things to cause a solid defence problems.

And in the second-half, it was kicking that they used to good effect to manage their lead, continually frustrating a Sale side whose discipline deteriorated as the contest progressed.

Day to forget for hosts

Sale had made their best start to a season for 18 years, and had they won today it would have been their best start ever.

But after going toe-to-toe with Quins for the first half hour, they lost their attacking direction with too many offloads that disrupted their own shape, and continually fell into the tactical traps laid by their visitors as they approached the tryline.

They still sit second, a full four points ahead of Gloucester in third and are seven clear of Quins in fifth, so remain comfortably sat in the play-off places, but a number of weaknesses were exposed that will need to be rectified if they are to achieve a table-topping campaign.

Finishing first has been mooted to be their goal, and indeed was what full-back Carpenter said was the team's target when he featured on The Rugby Paper Podcast recently, and they have an immediate chance to re-instate their credentials when they travel to leaders Saracens next week.

Their first half try was a flash of brilliance, with Carpenter breaking and chipping, and Raffi Quirke scooping up a loose ball to feed James for a fine try on his 150th Premiership appearance.

But there will be a number of aspects, from their set piece and phase play to their discipline, that they will need to address if they're to come away successful from the StoneX Stadium.

Sale Sharks: Carpenter 8, Roebuck 6, James 7, Tuilagi 6 (Hill 72, 6), O'Flaherty 7 (Reid, 70, 6), R Du Preez 5, Quirke 5; Rodd 5 (McIntyre 50, 6), Ashman 5 (Taylor 50, 5), Schoenart 6 (Harper 65, 6), Wiese 6, Hill 6, Ross 5 (JL Du Preez 50, 6), Curry 7 (Beaumont 55, 5), D Du Preez 7.

Harlequins: Allan 5 (Anwanyu 70, 5), David 8, Marchant 7, Esterhuizen 8, Murley 6, Smith 9, Care 8 (Gjatelma 78); Marler 7 (Botta 73, 5), Musk 7 (Riley 65, 7), Louw 8 (Kerrod 65, 6), Lamb 7 (Hammond 32, 6), Herbst 7, Kenningham 8, Evans 8, White 7 (Jurevicius 57, 5)

Not used: Edwards

Star Man: Marcus Smith, Harlequins

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