According to you who was the best European player of the season?
Imanol Harinordoquy (43%)
William Servat (21%)
Other (12%)
Ronan O'Gara(8%)
Brian O'Driscoll (8%)
Vincent Clerc (5%)
Damien Traille (3%)
Sale Sharks did their chances of quarter-final qualification no harm with an impressive bonus-point win at Harlequins in Saturday afternoon's early kick off.
Sale enhanced their chances of quarter-final qualification with a bonus-point win at Quins
Kingsley Jones' men followed up a home victory over Cardiff Blues with four tries in a hugely entertaining Heineken Cup encounter.
In securing a maximum five points in a 29-19 win, Sale move up to second position in Pool 5, level on points with the Blues and just a point behind group leaders Toulouse.
Sale enjoyed a near perfect start at The Stoop, scoring two converted tries inside the opening 10 minutes.
Dwayne Peel was the first to cross the Quins line after he finished off a superb counter attack that began when Nick Macleod gathered a high ball deep in Sale territory.
Macleod fed fellow Welshman Lee Thomas, who broke clear before swapping passes with centre partner Matthew Tait. Thomas then quickly shifted possession inside to Ben Cohen who in turn supplied the scoring pass to Peel 10 metres out.
Charlie Hodgson added the straightforward conversion with seven minutes played and did so again when Macleod crossed for a second try two minutes later.
Sale No8 Sisaro Koyamaibole provided the initial impetus, making hard yards in midfield before hooker Neil Briggs picked a beautiful inside line from the ensuing ruck.
Briggs burst through the first line of defence and into the Quins 22, with Macleod appearing to take the final pass on Briggs' right shoulder.
Quins stopped the early rot with a try of their own with the game 18 minutes old as they finally woke up after a sloppy start.
The score was all down to a piece of individual brilliance from Quins fly-half Nick Evans. The former All Black caught his own delicate chip ahead on the edge of the opposition 22 and then broke through the tackle of the last defender to touch down directly underneath the posts.
Evans easily added the extras to close the gap to a single score at 14-7.
But Sale responded immediately, with openside Dave Seymour pouncing on the loose ball after Quins failed to gather the restart.
The Heineken Man-of-the-Match picked up brilliantly and charged 15 metres to re-establish Sale's commanding advantage.
Hodgson's conversion from the 15-metre line on the right-hand side stretched the lead to 14 points at 21-7 and the Sharks should have had the game sewn up 12 minutes later.
Another well-worked counter attack created a two-on-one 10 metres from the Quins line but the finger tips of retreating full back Mike Brown somehow prevented Mark Cueto's pass from reaching Cohen.
Instead it was Quins who were next on the scoresheet courtesy of England wing David Strettle.
Macleod's clearance kick failed to find touch giving Quins a chance to counter. The home side maintained possession and eventually created space for Strettle to sprint clear down the right wing for a welcome try.
Evans was off-target with the conversion and it was Sale who claimed the final points of the half as Hodgson slotted the game's first penalty in stoppage time.
Having started the first half so poorly, Quins made no such mistake in the second as they made it three tries apiece inside three minutes.
Hooker Chris Brooker made the initial break, with Quins then recycling possession for close to 10 phases before No8 Nick Easter powered over from just a metre short.
Evans had no trouble with the conversion and suddenly Quins were back within five points at 24-19.
But that was as good as it got for last season's beaten quarter-finalists as Sale deservedly claimed the game's deciding score with 50 minutes gone through Cohen.
Cohen's try guaranteed what could be an all-important try-scoring bonus point for the former Challenge Cup winners, while Hodgson's successful conversion opened up a 10-point gap that would prove too much for Quins to overcome.
Strettle and Easter both came close for a bonus-point try for Quins but both men were held up over the line as Quins' chances of Heineken Cup progression were all but extinguished.
