Sale Sharks looking to overcome top four rivals Harlequins at the Stoop.

Sale Sharks travel to Twickenham Stoop on Saturday to take on Harelquins in a top four Gallagher Premiership clash.

After nine rounds of rugby, Quins and Sharks sit level on 28 points with only the numbers of wins separating their table placing. The North West side are third having won six of their nine games, whilst the capital outfit occupy fourth following five wins and one draw.

A win is crucial for both clubs, not only to strengthen their position within the top four, but to close the gap on Bristol who lead the way by six points.

Sale Sharks will be aiming to overcome their recent away problems against Harlequins, and leave with their first league win on this ground in seven years.

Team News:

Quins have named an unchanged starting 15 to the side that were victorious against Tigers last weekend, however changes are evident on the bench.

James Chisholm and Luke Northmore return to the squad after recovering from injury, although an injured Santiago Garcia Botta misses out.

Sale Sharks have once again rotated, making eight changes to their starting line-up. Denny Solomona returns for his third league start of the season, and Will Cliff will make his 200^th appearance for the club.

World Cup winner, Lood de Jager could feature for the first time this season from the bench. The lock sustained a shoulder injury in September, which required metal plates to be installed following surgery.

Sale Sharks are still without Rohan Janse van Rensburg who was due to return against Bristol two weeks ago, however the centre has suffered a further soft tissue problem and is expected to miss the next couple of weeks.

Last time out:

Harlequins have been in excellent form recently, winning their last three games and without defeat in the New Year. Last time out, Quins recorded a 34-27 victory over Leicester Tigers at the Stoop, after an emphatic performance saw a try bonus point sealed within a minute of the second half.

Fly half, Marcus Smith scored 22 of the points and afterwards said it was nice to regain the feeling of a try bonus point at home:

Smith said: “It was as though we had forgotten what it was like to win here as it had been so long since we last got a bonus point win. It was nice to get that one over the line but we have to now back it up against Sale.”

Sharks arrive in London looking to get back to winning ways following a disappointing 27-22 home defeat to Bath in which Alex Sanderson’s heavily rotated side did just enough to claim a losing bonus point.

Post-match, the Sharks Director of Rugby said basics let his team down:

Sanderson said: “Ball retention, placement in the rucks, set-pieces, offsides… the simple things which the game revolves around. It doesn’t matter how good your game plan is, how talented your players are, if you don’t get them right you won’t keep their score down.”

Prior to the defeat, Sharks had won all four of their last league games including a hard fought, 20-13, away win at top of the table Bristol.

Last Meeting:

Sale Sharks 27-19 Harlequins: Premiership Rugby Cup Final

The last time these sides faced each other was back in September, when Sale Sharks ended their 14-year trophy wait with victory over Quins at the AJ Bell Stadium.

The visitors were on track to winning the competition for the fourth time when James Chisholm’s try cancelled out Curtis Langdon’s earlier opener, giving Quins a 16-10 half time lead.

However, a second half South African inspired comeback was enough for the Sharks to lift the trophy for the first time. Dan Du Preez’s try was added to at the death by Faf de Klerk who worked his magic to seal victory.

Last three ‘Twickenham Stoop’ fixtures:

Harlequins 16-10 Sale Sharks, August 2020

Harlequins 51-23 Sale Sharks, September 2018

Harlequins 42-26 Sale Sharks, October 2017

Sale Sharks last league away win vs Harlequins was November, 2014 when they won 16-12. Three members of the Sharks matchday squad on Saturday, also featured in the win: Cliff, Josh Beaumont and Cameron Neild. For the hosts, only Danny Care was present as he came on as a substitute.

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