The team started with only seven of the starting squad who should have beaten London Irish the week before. Six players were lost as a result of playing in the 2nd XV game on Wednesday, one was selected to play in a friendly against Leeds U19s and another was injured in training. Things then went from bad to worse when fly-half Pete Whitfield pulled a hamstring after 20 minutes. With the replacements thinly stretched, scrum half Ian Martin had to drop to No. 10 and he was replaced at No. 9 by Rob Outen.

For 60 minutes the team tried valiantly to stay with a Sale side well served at Nos. 10, 11 and 12 by three large and very powerful backs. Indeed, until that point, territorially, the game was played more in the Sale half. The difference was that, whilst Sale were able to capitalise on the chances they created, the Quins team had neither the power, pace or composure at the crucial moments to turn pressure into points. They were also heavily beaten in the lineout though, credit to the forwards, for most of the game they had the Sale pack under some strain.

In the last 20 minutes, exhausted and demoralised, the team leaked points alarmingly with Sale scoring almost at will. Sadly, full-back John Cosgrove, in his first game of the season, seemed to injure his knee badly in a vain attempt to prevent the final try.

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