LONDON: Harlequins surged to the top of the English Premiership with a 24-3 thrashing of lowly Newcastle at Kingston Park on Friday.
Nick David set the tone for a one-sided encounter when he started the Harlequins scoring spree with a try after 67 seconds.
Falcons were backed by their biggest crowd of the season as they went in search of their first league win since last March.
But further tries from Andre Esterhuizen, Jack Walker and George Hammond took the game away from the beleaguered hosts, who are struggling in the top-flight amid financial cutbacks.
The victory elevated Harlequins from sixth place to the top of the Premiership table ahead of the rest of the weekend's games.
Newcastle remain rooted to the bottom, 12 points adrift of Gloucester.
Sale missed the chance to return to the top of the Premiership after a 22-14 defeat against Bristol.
Bristol ended Sale's run of 12 consecutive home league victories dating back to October 2022 as Pat Lam's visitors made it three wins in their last four games.
Harry Randall, Gabriel Ibitoye and Max Malins scored Bristol's tries, with Jonny Hill and Agustin Creevy crossing for Sale.
Sale drop to fourth place, while Bristol remain eighth. --AFP