LUKE Wallace led Premiership champions Harlequins to their second piece of silverware this season as they lifted the LV= Cup at Worcester this afternoon.
Just as they have throughout the competition, Quins stuck with a predominantly second string side, with 14 of those starting at Sixways having helped the Stoop side win the A League title earlier this year.
And just to underline how promising the future is for Quins too, no less than 15 of their cup-winning squad were under the age of 23.
Although they did not truly put Sale to bed until the closing stages, Quins were in front from the moment Ben Botica opened the scoring with a 40 metre penalty after Fraser McAndrew was penalised.
The opening try followed soon after for Tom Williams, scorer of two in the semi-final win over Bath, after Tom Guest was held up just short of the line, with the ball being recycled quickly and good hands from Karl Dickson putting in the Quins wing.
Botica missed the conversion, meaning Danny Cipriani's penalty for Sale pulled the Manchester side to within seven points.
Ross Chisholm was then just beaten to his own kick-ahead after Sale lost possession in the Quins 22, but Conor O'Shea's men didn't have long to wait until their second try after Guest picked up from the base of a scrum and powered his way through.
Botica converted, before Chisholm displayed his defensive qualities too as he got to Cipriani's kick-through to clear the danger.
Cipriani slotted a penalty over off the post as half time approached, while Botica responded with one for Quins after Sale were caught offside, giving his side an 18-6 lead at the break.
Cipriani got the second half scoring underway with another penalty, but Tom Casson ensured Quins stayed comfortably in front with a superb dummy to create a gap for try number three, which Botica converted.
Mark Lambert was then denied a try by the video ref, who deemed he had not grounded the ball following a spell of immense pressure of the Sale line, and Quins went close again when McAndrew just beat Williams to Botica's dangerous diagonal kick.
As Quins kept the pressure up, Chisholm and Casson both went close before skipper Wallace marked a fine personal performance with a try following some quick recycling once more.
There was still 20 minutes left on the clock when Johnny Leota finally crossed for Sale's only try of the game, but the missed conversion meant the gap was too big to make up, and that was the end of the scoring.
