Harlequins 29 – 43 Sale: Player Ratings from crucial play-off race battle at the Stoop
04/21/2025 02:16 PM
By Harvey Allen
Sale Sharks toppled Harlequins in a crucial contest for a play-off place, with Tom Curry pushing his way to two scores.
Harlequins got the first points of the game through the boot of Marcus Smith, and Jack Kenningham grabbed their first try, breaking through the line from an Alex Dombrandt inside ball. Sale responded as a powerful maul burst over the line: Luke Cowan-Dickie the one to score.
Tom Curry took the lead for Sale, running through a well made gap by George Ford. Some fast play between Luke Northmore, Tyrone Green and Cadan Murley saw the latter run in a great try to put Quins ahead again. Asher Kpoku-Fordjour got Sale ahead again, after some quick teamplay left him with just the fullback to beat. Curry added his second just before the break, finishing off strong phase play.
Sale started the second half strong, Jonny Hill diving through the goal-line defence after two minutes. Jean-Luc Du Preez extended the Sharks lead, bursting his way over the defence to add his own score. After having a try disallowed, Harlequins scored just moments later: Cameron Anderson finding a gap just outside of a powerful red-zone maul.
With just four minutes left, Nathan Jibulu, along with Smith's conversion, got Quins one score away from Sale heading into crunch time. However, Tom Roebuck spoiled Harlequins' party before it even started, grabbing what would prove to be the winner.
Sale moved up to third, putting themselves in a good position to make the top four come the end of the last matchday. Harlequins now sit seventh, still searching for a play-off place, but with a lot of work to do in the last four games of the season.
Harlequins:
TRIES: 4 (Kenningham 6', Murley 24', Anderson 60', Jibulu 76')
CONVERSIONS: 3 (Smith 7', 61', 77')
PENALTIES: 1 (Smith 3')
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 0
RED CARDS: 0
15. Tyrone Green 14. Cameron Anderson 13. Oscar Beard 12. Luke Northmore 11. Cadan Murley 10. Marcus Smith 9. Danny Care 1. Fin Baxter 2. Jack Walker 3. Titi Lamositele 4. Irne Herbst 5. Chandler Cunningham-South 6. Jack Kenningham 7. Will Evans 8. Alex Dombrandt (Captain)
Replacements
16. Nathan Jibulu 17. Jordan Els 18. Wyn Jones 19. Joe Launchbery 20. Tom Lawday 21. Lewis Gjaltema 22. Jamie Benson 23. Ben Waghorn
Sale Sharks:
TRIES: 7 (Cowan-Dickie 12', Curry 17', 38', Opoku-Fordjour 31', Hill 42', JL. Du Preez 53', Roebuck 78')
CONVERSIONS: 4 (R. Du Preez 18', 31', 38', 79')
PENALTIES: 0
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 0
RED CARDS: 0
15. Joe Carpenter 14. Tom Roebuck 13. Rob du Preez (Captain) 12. Rekeiti Ma'asi White 11. Arron Reed 10. George Ford 9. Gus Warr 1. Bevan Rodd 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie 3. Asher Kpoku-Fordjour 4. Ben Bamber 5. Jonny Hill 6. Ernst van Rhyn 7. Tom Curry 8. Jean-Luc du Preez
Replacements
16. Tadgh McElroy 17. Si McIntyre 18. WillGriff John 19. Sam Dugdale 20. Hyron Andrews 21. Raffi Quirke 22. Sam Bedlow 23. Alex Willis
Harlequins Player Ratings:
15. Tyrone Green – 7
Provided fantastic support for teammates: a key link to the Harlequins backline.
14. Cameron Anderson – 7
Linked-up well in the line to keep play fast and flowing, some quick thinking defence and an important score.
13. Oscar Beard – 7
A very prominent player, taking lots of good carries.
12. Luke Northmore – 7
Lots of hard, physical carries kept Quins moving forward.
11. Cadan Murley – 8
Very quick and prominent with the ball in hand, and has been useful contesting high balls.
10. Marcus Smith – 6
Unfortunately, risk did not equal reward today. Still a lot of good play, but lacking the composure his opposite number had.
9. Danny Care – 7
A standard performance: good tempo and even some work in the ruck.
1. Fin Baxter – 6
Powerful in scrums and mauls, kept the set piece strong.
2. Jack Walker – 6
His set piece was okay, with some good and hard carries.
3. Titi Lamositele – 6
Some good scrummaging performances.
4. Irne Herbst – 5
Lacked a bit of extra strength that most other players had.
5. Chandler Cunningham-South – 7
Lots of hard carries, and some very dynamic play kept Quins alive and scoring.
6. Jack Kenningham – 7
Very useful at the breakdown, both offensively and defensively, with a try for his efforts.
7. Will Evans – 6
A good, solid job on the day.
8. Alex Dombrandt © – 7
Kept his team under control, whilst providing his own support in his player role.
Replacements – 7
Nathan Jibulu grabbed a very important try to keep Quins in the game, kept pushing for a late score.
Sale Sharks Player Ratings:
15. Joe Carpenter – 7
Solid in the back-field, linked-up very well with the back line.
14. Tom Roebuck – 8
Fast lines cutting the defence apart, and caused a lot of stress under the high ball, with the winning score.
13. Rob du Preez © – 7
A good all-round performance, did everything asked of him and more, however low kicking accuracy let him down.
12. Rekeiti Ma'asi White – 6
Fairly uneventful performance.
11. Arron Reed – 6
Provided a highball headache for Quins.
10. George Ford – 10
Created space and opportunities out of thin air.
9. Gus Warr – 6
Box kicking was useful, and kept up to a fast tempo.
1. Bevan Rodd – 6
Defensively good with heavy scrummaging.
2. Luke Cowan-Dickie – 7
Powerful in attack, rewarded with a try.
3. Asher Kpoku-Fordjour – 8
He had the fast feet of a winger, and the power of a back rower. Sensational.
4. Ben Bamber – 6
A fairly quiet performance.
5. Jonny Hill – 7
Heavy carries led to his own score.
6. Ernst van Rhyn – 6
Mostly unheard of in all of the game.
7. Tom Curry – 8
Pivotal in attack, with two tries to show for it.
8. Jean-Luc du Preez – 6
Kept Sale's nitty gritty attack over the line, with a score as a reward.
Replacements – 6
Kept Quins at arms length to close out the game.
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