Sale 21 Harlequins 16

The Guinness Premiership match between Sale and Harlequins at Edgely Park on Friday Jan 1, 2010.

Harlequins must be relieved that they are not scheduled to meet Sale again after this season after they suffered their third defeat against them in four weeks at Edgeley Park.

Back-to-back defeats in the Heineken Cup were followed by another narrow reverse, though Harlequins had only themselves to blame.

They had plenty of possession in the first half but failed to turn it into tries and then allowed Sale to make the most of their own attacking opportunities with some dozy defending.

Lock James Gaskell powered over from long range in the first half and former Engladn winger Ben Cohen was waved through for the decisive second midway through the second period.

Those lapses proved costly as Charlie Hodgson, not renowned for his defensive resolve, managed to cover across to bundle Ugo Monye into touch for what would have been an equalising try right on the stroke of time.

Sale had to wait for the television match official to study replays and decide that Monye had put a foot in touch before they could celebrate another win.

The game was in doubt until an hour before kick-off because of frozen patches in the in-goal area at the Railway End of the ground.

The pitch had been under frost covers for almost two weeks and Sale had used hot air blowers to de-frost frozen patches but referee Chris White was still concerned enough to summon Harlequins’ management from their nearby hotel to inspect the worst affected areas.

After a series of inspections and meetings between White, Sale’s director of rugby Kingsley Jones and Harlequins’ head coach John Kingston the game was given the all-clear and the gates were finally open to spectators.

Having agreed to play their Heineken Cup game on a snow covered pitch last month Harlequins again won plaudits for their positive attitude though their players , having spent a sober New Year’s Eve in a Manchester hotel, were probably reluctant to make a another trek to Stockport.

Ironically the only try of the first half was scored in the patch that had given officials most concern with Gaskell rounding off a superb attack started by hooker Neil Briggs who powered through some ponderous tackling when Dwayne Peel gathered the re-start kick after Charlie Hodgson had levelled with his second penalty for Sale.

Gaskell’s try came against the run of play as Danny Care and Nick Evans tested sale with some deft kicks and Evans twice nudged Harlequins in front with penalties only for Hodgson to wipe out the lead from Sale’s infrequent attacks.

Hodgson and Evans traded further penalties at the start of the second half before the Quins’ defence again parted obligingly to allow Cohen cut through.

Peel and Mathew Tait made the initial breaks but Cohen found little in his way until Care put in last-ditch tackle over the line. It was not enough to prevent the try, however, which was awarded by the television match official.

Replays were also required to determine that Tom Guest had grounded the ball for Harlequins’ try and Rory Clegg conversion from an acute angle.

But the drama was not over. Harlequins laid siege to Sale’s line for the final ten minutes, winning a succession of scrums and then finally spreading the ball wide for the final play of an intriguing game.

Tosh Masson’s floated pass found Monye unmarked but the England man could not quite make the line before Hodgson and Cohen muscled him into touch right by the corner flag.