Sale briefly rose to fifth in the Aviva Premiership after the early kick-off at the AJ Bell stadium saw them beat Harlequins with more to spare than the final scoreline suggests. They were well away at 29-16 into the closing stages but Harlequins, after being held out in a whole succession of driving mauls throughout the game, managed the score which salvaged a bonus point in almost the last act.
Sale have no fit players away on international duty, whereas Harlequins have eight. It is a reflection of the philosophies of the clubs. Sale deserve massive credit for their rise. This was the first time they have beaten Harlequins for six seasons, and now their campaign to finish in the top six, and therefore in European Cup rugby next season, appears to be going famously.
The turning point of the match was the arrival of a fresh front row after 53 minutes and of a fresh half-back partnership not long afterwards. Sale always looked dangerous when they won quick ball, and the advent of Peter Stringer and Danny Cipriani made the ball whiz.
It was only 16-16 when Cipriani came on but he quickly kicked a penalty and then ushered Sam James through a gap. James was able to unleash the talented Will Addison on the wing who went on a splendid finishing burst. Cipriani kicked the conversion and added a penalty. What was once in the balance was, by then, a foregone conclusion.
Earlier, in a forgettable first-half, in which the scrums and line-outs took an absolute age to form and the kickers took an age to make their kicks, most of the play was stodgy and the depleted Harlequins at least gave it the kitchen sink in the cause.
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And they took the lead in the middle of the half when Mike Haley tried a kick-and-chase, but lost the ball on his fingertips, and Ben Botica put Tim Visser over down the left.
But the Sale revival was set off by a try from a driving maul by TJ Ioane and the reinforcements duly saw Sale home in the final quarter.
Sale have a promising prop of young backs at their disposal, with Haley, Addison and Sam James clearly having rich talent. For Harlequins, Kyle Sinckler and Luke Wallis up front were conspicuous, but in the end it was the team of Mark Easter who prevailed over the team of Nick Easter in the battle of the brothers.