Quins still unbeaten
Nick Evans scored 20 points as Harlequins beat Sale 48-41 to maintain their 100 per cent start to the Premiership season.
Last Updated: 01/10/11 6:11pm
Nick Evans scored 20 points for Harlequins on Saturday when they beat Sale 48-41 to maintain their 100 per cent start to the Aviva Premiership season.
Quins earned themselves a bonus point but lost concentration in a remarkable finale when, after a 10-minute injury break, Sale fought back to collect two points themselves.
However, Quins held on nevetheless to win their fifth straight game - their best start to a season since 1996 - and so remain top of the table.
They took the lead after just two minutes when Sam Smith's break on the right caught Sale drifting, and despite a strong tackle by Will Addison, Smith managed to throw a pass in-field which Mike Brown took in his stride and scored.
Evans kicked the conversion, and the Premiership leaders doubled their lead five minutes later after Charlie Matthews won a lineout. Karl Dickson then sparked the backline and following a slick succession of phases, George Lowe crashed over close to the posts.
Evans again converted, leaving Sale already with a steep hill to climb on a sultry afternoon at the Twickenham Stoop.
A 12th-minute penalty by fly-half Nick Macleod put the visitors on the scoreboard, but within minutes Harlequins swarmed back into their 22.
Pressure
The pressure told, with referee Martin Fox spotting a visitor standing up in the scrum and Evans converted the resulting penalty.
But careless hands in midfield gifted Sale possession on 24 minutes, allowing Sam Tuitupou to run at the heart of the home defence. He drew two challengers and delivered a perfect offload to Rob Miller, who sprinted clear for a try between the posts, with Macleod converting.
Evans experienced his first miss of the afternoon when a long-range penalty attempt drifted wide at the last second - further encouragement for Sale whose fightback from a desperate start was impressive.
However, they were then floored by three tries in six minutes. With 33 minutes on the clock, Quins crossed again as lock Ollie Kohn, who was celebrating his 100th appearance for the club, battered his way over the line.
Sale's players barely had time to catch their breath before Quins were all over them again, with Brown this time on the end of a pass thrown out by Dickson.
Panic then descended upon the visiting rearguard, with Quins' pack helping shunt prop Mark Lambert across the line - Evans converting all three.
Sale nicked one back on the stroke of half-time when Dwayne Peel capitalised on a mix-up in communication - half the Quins players were static as if they had heard a whistle - to cross on the right, with Macleod converting.
But hero turned villain four minutes into the second half as Peel fumbled the ball under pressure. He recovered to throw a pass, only for Evans to intercept and sprint for his team's sixth try, which he duly converted before making way for Rory Clegg to a standing ovation.
Possibility
Yet the visitors sensed the possibility of a try-bonus point in a game where Quins were more concerned with scoring than defending, and edged closer to that reality when the speedy Miller ran clear from halfway for his second try, with Macleod converting.
The game was held up for nearly 10 minutes when Will Addison was injured making a tackle and was carried from the field on a stretcher.
Sale's bonus-point try duty followed when a succession of phases led to a penalty for offside and Vadim Cobilas went over in the corner, with Miller converting.
The visitors scored twice more - 12 tries being scored in all during the match - with Vadim Cobilas and Joaquin Tuculet respectively crossing to ensure that Sale did not go home empty handed.
