Tabai Matson thinks Harlequins' clash with ‘bogey team’ Sale Sharks on Sunday might be the spark they need to get back on track. 

Quins sit eighth going into the weekend following a 27-19 defeat to Leicester last week and have won only two of their previous eight encounters and with their most recent win in February 2021. 

But the coach hopes to put the past behind them and reignite their campaign at the AJ Bell Stadium this weekend.

He said: "It's an opportunity and we have to get back on track. Even if they're our bogey team according to the numbers, we've got a great opportunity to get our campaign back on track and go out there and play well. 

"Sale are now a massive challenge and the good thing is that's what you usually need after a big defeat. A lot of the stuff we didn't get right against Leicester, we have to get right against Sale. 

"We will be trying to tempo the game and move the game along whilst they try to slow it down and that's the enjoyable part of the game isn't it. 

"It's enjoyable watching teams try and force their style on each other. 

"And Sale will be looking to put the same tempo on us as they did on London Irish last week." 

Harlequins started slowly against Leicester and their second half surge came too late to reverse the outcome.

With only two league wins to their name this season, Matson's hopes the Sale challenge can provide the physical spark they have so far lacked.

He said: "I was really frustrated on Sunday, mostly because we didn't fire any shots and we were just bested.

"If you don't match the physical standards then you come off second best. 

"That will be a big challenge, as it will be all year but it's going to be a lot harder against a team that's top of the table and one we haven't beaten in while. 

"That's when you see really the strength in your squad's character. 

"Because they are a team that play really good rugby and are therefore at the top of the table." 

Following Eddie Jones' squad announcement for the Autumn Nations Series, Matson will only have one more week of star winger Cadan Murley before the 23-year-old heads off for his first taste of senior international duty. 

But with an abundance of praise for the player over the past few weeks, the Quins head coach is more than happy to see him pull on the England jersey. 

He said: "We see Cadan's game overly positively. With his form at the moment, you've got to pick him.  

"He's good under the high ball, which is one of the key parts of the modern game, and defensively in this league, he's got to be the best defending player, which is really hard looking at the calibre of the players. 

"Every week he does something special for us and ultimately we want Harlequins lads in the white jersey."