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 might 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 as games 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. “Marcus is brave, he doesn’t shy away from the contact, he has worked hard on his defence in the last two months and he wants to be the best player in the world,” said Harlequins’ head of rugby, Paul Gustard. “He’s unashamed of his desire and ambition.”
Diamond, too, acknowledged Smith “showed his class” while also lamenting Sale’s inability to adapt to the new breakdown interpretations, hinting at his frustration at how it was ruled on by referee Luke Pearce. “We didn’t get to grip with the breakdown interpretations, so we’re probably delighted to come away with a bonus point,” he said. “We need some clarity.”
Before kick-off all eyes fell on both sets of players – 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. 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. 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 Diamond, all the more audible in the absence of a crowd, did not think so.
Byron McGuigan scored a well-worked try in the right-hand corner for Sale five minutes after half-time but a woeful crossfield kick inside his own 22 from Du Preez soon led to Scott Baldwin’s pushover try, Simon Hammersley sent to the sin-bin for infringing in the buildup. Du Preez was hooked immediately. 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 deserved nor forthcoming.
