Holders Sale Sharks emerged as winners of an entertaining encounter at The Stoop against Harlequins but finish bottom of Pool B.
Will Cliff, Kieran Wilkinson and Simon Hammersley gave the visitors a commanding lead despite Cassius Cleaves’ score for Quins.
Wilkinson was then sin-binned in a dramatic finish to the first half which also saw Villiami Taulani score for Harlequins before Sale were reduced to 13 players, with Joe Carpenter also shown a yellow card.
Cleaves then added his second try of the game, but Jack Metcalf hit back straight away for the visitors as they re-took the lead going into the interval.
Ross Chisholm levelled the score immediately after the break, only to go off injured following a lengthy break in play after Joe Carpenter had scored Sale’s fifth try.
James Harper then extended the Sharks’ lead and although Archie White scored late on for Quins, it was not enough to prevent defeat in their final pool match as their interest in the competition also came to an end.
Sale Sharks transition coach Neil Briggs said: “I’m really pleased for the lads. After last week’s tough defeat against Wasps, we had to right some wrongs.
“We spoke before the game about making the long journey to Harlequins. No one watching us apart from a few parents, it would be easy to call this a nothing game, but it never is in a Sharks shirt.
“So, I’m really proud of the lads for this performance and the character we showed.”
Written by Ben Jaycock
