Sharks look to bite back against Quins

4:52pm Thursday 1st May 2008

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SALE head coach Kingsley Jones has called on his players to take out the frustrations from their European Challenge Cup exit on play-off rivals Harlequins.

The Edgeley Park side were defeated 36-14 by Bath in the last four of Europe's second-tier competition but the big games just keep on coming.

On Sunday they travel to the Stoop for a game which will likely decide which of the two teams gets a shot at the Guinness Premiership crown.

Although Sharks currently sit fifth - one place below the play-off spots - they trail fourth-placed Quins by a single point.

It means defeat would virtually end their hopes of competing in the postseason but victory could lift them as high as second.

Heineken Cup qualification is also on Sale's mind, with a top six place still not guaranteed and Jones knows his players must be at the peak of their games.

He said: "This is probably the biggest game the club has had in a long while.

"We've said all along that the minimum for this season is Heineken Cup qualification and this could be the deciding factor in whether we do that or not.

"The Bath defeat was disappointing. When we drew at Montpellier we realised how difficult the challenge was going to be, playing Bath away.

"The best thing we can do is close the book on it. We need to be positive, be reactive and put it right down at Harlequins.

"We had two avenues to qualify for Europe and now we've got one left.

"It makes this game all the more important. We could lose on Sunday and still have a fighting chance but it's in our own hands at the moment and we need to keep it that way by beating them.

"We can't take our frustrations out on each other from the game against Bath, we need to be mentally tough and take our frustrations out on Harlequins."

Jones still remembers vividly the final game of the 2004/05 season when Sharks won 23-22 down at Harlequins to secure a play-off place while also condemning their hosts to relegation.

And he is now looking to call on those memories to summon a performance of similar quality.

"Everyone has got something to play for in the top six or seven and everyone wants to be in the Heineken Cup so the best thing we can do is focus on ourselves and get the result we need down there.

"We need to go down there with a real positive attitude and win.

"We went down there three years agon in what was a really important game for both them and us. We won and finished third so we need a performance like that."