mens
Gallagher-Prime Minister
Harlequins head coach Jason Gilmore claimed his side had regained their pride despite their third straight defeat of the campaign against Gallagher Prem Sale at the CorpAcq Stadium in Salford.
The Sharks they clinched a 28-24 victory with a 73rd-minute penalty try after being outplayed for long periods by a Quins side following last weekend’s 48-0 humiliation at Gloucester.
“Disappointing. We probably created three chances in the first half that we didn’t take and that came back to bite us,” Harlequins head coach Jason Gilmore said.
“Fair play to Sale. They got back into the game with their line-up but I’m really proud of the effort of the lads here.”
“Two bonus points on the way here is, I wouldn’t say, satisfying, but I’m just happy for the lads that they got some reward for their work.
Gallagher Premiership
P
W
L
D
PF
Well
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
In total
1
3
2
1
0
12
2
3
2
1
0
11
3
3
2
1
0
11
4
3
2
1
0
11
5
3
2
1
0
11
6
3
2
1
0
10
7
3
2
1
0
9
8
3
1
2
0
8
9
3
0
3
0
4
10
3
0
3
0
2
“If you’re willing to go to dark places for us and win those collisions, then you’ll be selected. If you dip a toe one week and then not the next, then we can’t tolerate that.”
“You can’t be up one week and then down the next week like we had last week. The performance will dictate the shirts.”
Marcus Smith impressed with two tries on his return from injury and Harlequins winger Sam Riley also scored twice.
But Sale, who trailed 17-14 at the break, hit back with Ben Bamber adding to first-half tries from Elia Canakaivata and Gus Warr before a decisive late penalty try.
Director of Rugby Sales Alex Sanderson admitted he was relieved after a late point was awarded by referee Christophe Ridley after a maul, which had gone 30 metres, was illegally brought down by a scruffy Riley.
“We’ve been looking down the pipe for 60 minutes. We’ve been chasing the game all day,” Sanderson said. “We haven’t been to the races, but the fight is clearly in them and it’s the second week they’ve found a way to win.
“They had to work their way through the games…and find solutions and that was really rewarding.
“I’m really proud of it but we’re still not where we want to be in terms of performance because it won’t be good enough against Glasgow next week. We know it, but we will win.
“If you can win by playing badly, then that’s a good sign. It’s up to us to step up, but it’s all in our hands and our capabilities. That’s what’s exciting, isn’t it?”