Harlequins Sale to defeat while Vos steps aboard
3:20pm Monday 20th May 2002 in Harlequins
Sale Sharks 40 NEC Harlequins 11 Sale Sharks clinched a second place finish in the Zurich Premiership with a convincing victory over Harlequins on Sunday and in-so-doing brought the curtain down on an ultimately disappointing season for the west Londoners.
However, despite the 40-11 defeat, Quins signed off in ninth place in the table, a position that looked unlikely for much of the season when Quins occupied one of the bottom two spots.
Paul Burke opened the scoring in front of a capacity Heywood Road with a penalty after 17 minutes, but the home side's response was immediate, Mark Cueto's try taking him to the head of the Premiership's leading scorer chart. England new boy Charlie Hodgson converted and the scores remained at 7-3 for the remainder of the half.
In the second half Sale, who required the bonus point to guarantee second spot, stepped up the pressure and quickly registered their second try of the afternoon when centre Mel Deane thundered through the Quins defence to touch down under the posts, from where Hodgson converted for 14-3.
Quins struck back through the boot of Mark Mapletoft, on for the injured Burke, then with a try for winger Matt Moore against his former club in the 55th minute.
The final quarter of play saw the home side dominate to score four tries. Cueto began the sequence with his second try, before Hodgson, who finished with 15 points in the game, crossed the line and converted his own try for 28-11. Sale then rounded matters off with further tries from Charl Marais and Jos Baxendell.
The Manchester side can now look forward to the European Shield Final as well as the play-offs. Quins, however, must now concentrate on next season and received a boost this week when they announced the high-profile signing of former South African captain and back-row forward Andre Vos.
The 27-year-old signs on a three year deal and will link up with the Quins at the beginning of November after the Currie Cup.
Vos, who captained the Springboks in 16 of his 33 Test appearances, announced his retirement from Test rugby in February of this year and was named South Africa's Rugby Player of the Year in 2001.
"I am delighted to have a player who is still in his mid-twenties and has such a wealth of international experience join us on a long-term basis," said Mark Evans, the Quins chief executive. "Having met with Andre, I am confident he will bring an enormous amount of value to the club."
Said Vos: "It is with great excitement that I take on the new challenge of playing for NEC Harlequins. They have always been a highly respected club that is rich in tradition and to be a part of that will be a great experience for me. I am very enthusiastic and expectant about working with Mark Evans, whom I believe will take the club from strength to strength and I anticipate a very happy and successful time with Quins."
The signing of Vos is timely for leaving the Stoop is England A and Sevens player, Steve White-Cooper, who has decided to quit the game due to increasing business commitments. Evans said: "Steve is a terrific player. We are going to miss him and we wish him all the best."
click2find
