Sale Sharks Women grabbed a losing bonus point on the road as they were edged out of a close encounter at The Stoop in a tough battle under the lights.
Sale were out of the blocks immediately, Rhona Lloyd dotting down a Lizzie Duffy grubber kick on three minutes to give the visitors first blood. Holly Aitchison slotted a difficult conversion from the touchline to make it 0-7.
Sharks fought hard throughout the game and as Harlequins looked to respond, the battle up front intensified. The travelling side saw off an onslaught of pick and go pressure before Quins moved it wide to their right and Red Rose Ellie Kildunne just held off the tackle from Shona Campbell to squeeze in inside the touchline to get them on the board.
With five minutes to go in the first half, Wilcock added Harlequins’ second of the game. This time down the left side, showing good pace to finish in the corner.
With the scores at 10-7, Lizzie Duffy slotted a penalty in front of the sticks to send the teams in at the break all square.
When the second half began, it was Quins’ turn to strike early – Parry burrowing over from close range to regain their lead five minutes in.
The rest of the half was an intense battle, with Sharks within striking distance on the scoreboard and the hosts struggling to put the game out of reach, but with 70 minutes on the clock, Connie Powell grabbed the pick and go and scored for the London side.
Sale didn’t give up though, and three minutes later pulled themselves right back into it – Shona Campbell flew round the outside of the Harlequins defence after some big collisions up front to make the score 22-17 and set up a big final five minutes.
Unfortunately for the travelling supporters, Sale couldn’t quite put together a move that got them over the line and a frantic finish to the game ended with the hosts leaving victorious.
Attention now switches to Sale’s last game before the Christmas break – Saracens travel to the Morson Stadium on 21st December and Sharks fans can secure their seat for the big Christmas clash here.
