Report: Sharks a fish out of water as Quins humble them at the Stoop

On a bone-chilling afternoon at the Stoop, Harlequins demolished an in form Sale 40-3 to extend their unbeaten run to three games.

Four first half tries from Emily Robinson, Sarah Bonar, Lagi Tuima and Bryony Cleall ensured the bonus point was secured before halftime. Second half tries came from Emily Scott, Izzy Mayhew,

The Harlequins pack was bolstered by a return of internationals, including England star, Shaunagh Brown.

The high flying Sharks were brought back down to earth after just three minutes as the Quins forwards won a line-out and powered over the line. The international experience was already paying dividends. Quins’ driving maul was unstoppable and flanker, Robinson scored in the corner to give the home side the early lead. Wallaroo, Bella McKenzie secured the first of four conversions in the opening 40 minutes.

Less than 10 minutes later, Quins doubled their lead. Scotland second row, Bonar, was warmly welcomed back to Twickenham as the international  scored the second try from the afternoon once again from the commanding driving maul.

Twenty minutes into the game and any chances that Sale tried to capitalise on were snuffed out by their own undoing.

As the Quins forwards were hunting, the backs were desperate to stretch their legs in the cold. After breaks from the likes of Ella Amory, Quins eventually capitalised on Shark’s poor handling, as Tuima scooped and scored a loose pass from the the visitors’ 22.

After conceding another penalty on the stroke of halftime, it was once again the ever reliant forwards who carried the ball over. After camping under the Sale posts for several phases, Bryony Cleall broke the deadlock and dismantled the Sale defenders, seemingly eager to head for the tunnel.

Following Grace White’s penalty for Sale a few minutes earlier, the score at halftime was 28-3 in favour of the hosts.

Harlequins continued to run riot in the second half. Despite early pressure from Sale, it took eight minutes for the hosts to resume their scoring frenzy. This time, it was the turn of Scott to dot over the try after a fine display of handling from Quins.

Four minutes later the points continued to add up for Quins. Brown stormed through the middle of the Sale defences and a few passes later it was the winger, Mayhew with the score for Quins.

Quins continued to play expansive rugby, targeting every aspect of the Sale defensive line. With less than 10 minutes to go until full time, Sharks finally found a way to halt the the hungry forwards, holding up Quins as they tried to cross the whitewash one more time.

For Sale, this defeat is a reality check after their fantastic start to the season. As the World Cup stars start to filter back into squads up and and down the country, the standards required to win only increases. Sale now stare down the barrel of three daunting fixtures. They host Saracens before playing Exeter and Bristol in the new year.

These will be three fixtures that will either undo all their good work in the early season or demonstrate the miraculous transformation this team has made from last season.