English rugby is back, albeit with more of a clunk than a bang, but after five long months we must gratefully accept what we are given. Harlequins will not care that the rust from both sides was all too evident, nor that the penalty count kept good pace with the number of errors, and even Eddie Jones may have gone home happy with the mature performance of the home fly-half Marcus Smith.
The 21-year-old scored 11 points from the boot but it was shrewd kicking to keep Sale penned in once Harlequins caught the eye in what was otherwise a disappointing spectacle – if the good news is that rugby is back then the better news is that it will surely get better than this as fixtures come thick and fast over the coming weeks. Indeed, for Harlequins it is now alive with possibility and Sale, as disappointing as they were, will know they will significantly improve in matches to come.
A minute’s silence to honour the NHS was perfectly observed before kick-off, as you might expect given the echoey empty stadium, ordinarily full to the brim under the Friday night lights. All eyes then fell on both sets of players – the hosts, Harlequins, united in taking a knee in support of Black Lives Matter, Sale opting to wear white T-shirts with the message “Rugby Against Racism”. Only four of their XV took a knee – Marland Yarde, Simon Hammersley, Sam Hill and Tom Curry and it was hard not to see that lack of cohesion manifesting itself on the pitch.
For Sale, hotly tipped as title challengers in the buildup to the restart, conceded eight penalties in the opening 20 minutes – adapting to the new breakdown interpretations is evidently easier said than done. Marcus Smith was on target with the three he opted to shoot at goal and Harlequins – thrashed 48-10 in the reverse fixture – were 9-0 to the good. It was not an opening half to speak highly of – plenty of industry, plenty of endeavour, plenty of rust and clunkiness too. A knock-on from debutant Manu Tuilagi just before half-time, swiftly followed by a shocking missed penalty from Robert du Preez, only served to underline that Sale were not living up to the hype. Certainly Steve Diamond, all the more audible given the absence of a crowd, did not think so.
The ease with which the visitors released Byron McGuigan down the right for the first try of the match after a booming Faf de Klerk penalty to the corner five minutes into the second half belied their slack start but still the errors flowed.
Robert du Preez’s crossfield kick inside his own 22 was picked off by Mike Brown and while Harlequins were stopped short, Sale’s Hammersley was sent to the sin-bin for his part in doing so.
On their next effort, Quins were over through Scott Baldwin with Smith converting for a nine-point lead.
Robert du Preez was hooked immediately and while his replacement, AJ MacGinty, pulled Sale back to 16-10 with nine minutes to go but despite plenty of possession in the closing stages the try was neither forthcoming nor deserved.