Sport in brief: Quins fightback denied as Monye try ruled out

Rugby Union: Sale pulled clear of the Guinness Premiership relegation zone with a dramatic 21-16 win over Harlequins last night, their third in 20 days at the Londoners’ expense.

Quins trailed 21-9 after 56 minutes but grabbed a foothold with Tom Guest’s try on the hour and winger Ugo Monye went over for what would have been the match winner in injury time only for the video referee to disallow the score for a foot in touch.

The Sharks were never at their fluent best but, on a night of sub-zero temperatures at an Edgeley Park passed fit only an hour before kick-off, they chalked up their first Premiership win since November. Harlequins were hit by the late withdrawal of John Andress and Nils Mordt, whereas Sale were boosted by the return of internationals Mark Cueto, Mathew Tait and Dwayne Peel, with the latter producing a man-of-the-match performance.

The pivotal moment came 40 seconds before half-time when Sale’s lively hooker Neil Briggs tore through the heart of the Harlequins defence and sent the supporting James Gaskell over for a glorious 70-yard try. Charlie Hodgson had just levelled the scores with his second penalty of the half, cancelling out two efforts from Nick Evans, and his touchline conversion gave the Sharks a 13-6 interval lead.

Taylor’s show of strength ends Lewis hopes

Darts: Phil Taylor remains on course for his 15th world title after sweeping aside Adrian Lewis in the quarterfinals of the PDC World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace last night. Lewis had some encouraging moments in the opening stages but Taylor soon found his rhythm and never let up as he surged to a 5-0 victory. In today’s semi-finals, Taylor will face Mark Webster, who beat the Netherlands’ Co Stompe 5-3, while Raymond van Barneveld plays Australian Simon Whitlock.