Steve Hanley marked his return to the Sale first team with a well-taken hat-trick of tries as the hosts made Harlequins pay for a performance riddled with mistakes.

The former England winger was joined on the scorecard by the man responsible for keeping him out of the side - Jason Robinson, who claimed two tries for himself.

The scoreline rather flattered the home side, whose performance left a lot to be desired. But on the day the opposition made more errors, and Sale took advantage.

Charlie Hodgson, making his first start for Sale at fly-half, kicked a penalty after seven minutes.

But it was Robinson who brought the home crowd to its feet with an electrifying run for the line after good work from centre Martin Shaw sent him on his way.

Quins battled hard and were rewarded with a try on 25 minutes for Joe Powell, which Niall Woods converted as the Sharks were guilty of some very slack defending.

On the half-hour Hodgson finally hit the target after missing two earlier and easier penalties.

After the break Bryan Redpath put Sale on their way with a darting run and neat chip ahead for Hanley to claim try number one.

With the bit between his teeth, Hanley was eager to impress and ran in another two - while on the opposite wing Robinson tried to keep up as Sale's threequarters enjoyed a productive day.

Victory gave the home side a much-needed five points.

Sale coach Glenn Ross was pleased with the results, but less so with the performance. He said: "The coaching staff were far from pleased with our first half performance and we had a few things to say at half-time.

"After the break they turned things around and did some damage, but we have played far better in recent away games where we have unfortunately lost."

Zurich Man-of-the-match: Steve Hanley

Teams:

Sale: Going, Hanley, Shaw, Deane, Robinson, Hodgson, Redpath, Black, Jackman, Bell, Manson-Bishop, Whittle, Wilks, Lines, Anglesea.

Replacements: Little for Hodgson (53), Winstanley for Black (73), Rusk for Jackman (73).

Not Used: Perelini, Knight, Davidson, Baldwin.

Tries: Robinson 2, Hanley 3.

Cons: Hodgson, Little.

Pens: Hodgson 2.

Harlequins: Woods, Gollings, Jennings, Burrows, O'Leary, Chalmers, M. Powell, Starr, Fuga, Dawson, Morgan, White-Jones, Jenkins, Wilson, J. Powell.

Replacements: O'Neill for O'Leary (60), Richards for M. Powell (64), Olver for Dawson (60), Jones for Morgan (64), Dawling for Wilson (73).

Not Used: Friday, Alesbrook.

Tries: J. Powell.

Cons: Woods.

Pens: Woods.

Att: 2,002

Ref: Kim Miller (RFU).