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Sale were comfortably beaten at Toulouse in Round 2
Sale Sharks are aiming to bounce back from defeat at Stade Toulousain when they welcome the TOP 14 side to the AJ Bell Stadium in Round 3 of the Heineken Champions Cup on Saturday.
Sale were outclassed at Stade Ernest Wallon in Round 2 as Toulouse marched to a 45-19 win and there will undoubtedly be an added edge to the return fixture following a bad-tempered end to the game which saw the hosts’ Thomas Ramos sent off.
That defeat was a setback for Sale, who had kicked off their campaign in style with a 39-0 whitewash of Ulster Rugby, though they remain among the Pool B frontrunners, sitting fourth on five points.
Five-time champions Toulouse are second, having won both their opening games – their other success being a hard-fought 18-13 victory at Munster Rugby.
Since their Round 2 encounter, Sale have won twice in three Gallagher Premiership games, while Toulouse have had the same form in the TOP 14.
The game kicks off at 13:00 (UK & Irish time) and is available to watch on BT Sport, beIN SPORTS, SuperSport and FloRugby.
We're BACK 😍
Which #HeinekenChampionsCup R3️⃣ thriller will you be watching? pic.twitter.com/JIVp8KDboC
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 10, 2023
Sale Sharks
- Jonny Hill missed the most tackles in Round 2 (7).
- Gus Warr is the only player in the tournament who has kicked two 50/22s.
- Tom Curry has won two ruck turnovers – as many as any other player – and has been a nuisance at the breakdown too, notching nine successes, the second highest in the tournament.
- Robert du Preez has made more break assists than any other player (5).
Stade Toulousain
- Thomas Ramos conceded four turnovers in Round 2 – as many as any other player. His total of seven is the joint highest.
- Antoine Dupont has completed more kicks in play than anyone else (30), with 20 being box kicks.
- Toulouse have conceded the joint-fewest turnovers (15).
- They have kicked more than any other team, achieving 2,048 metres with 67 kicks.
Emmanuel Meafou scored the first of Toulouse's two tries at Sale
Sale Sharks were eventually beaten 27-5 by Stade Toulousain in the Heineken Champions Cup on Saturday despite offering stern resistance after being reduced to 14 men early on.
The Gallagher Premiership were ahead at the break thanks to Akker van der Merwe’s try, but were left with a monumental task against the five-time champions when Cobus Wiese was sent off.
Toulouse ultimately took control of the contest through penalties from Melvyn Jaminet, who racked up a personal tally of 17 points, before late tries from Emmanuel Meafou and Guillaume Cramont sealed their victory, and their place in the Round of 16.
Sale started the game in the ascendancy and were rewarded for their early pressure when hooker van der Merwe peeled off a rolling maul and burrowed over the whitewash.
But there was a huge setback for the hosts, who had lost starting props Simon McIntyre and Nick Schonert to injury early on, when lock Wiese was dismissed for a dangerous clear-out on 18 minutes.
🐗 The Angry Warthog strikes!@SaleSharksRugby take the lead as Akker van der Merwe takes the ball off the maul and bulldozes Ntamack on his way to the line.
Watch the #HeinekenChampionsCup action live on @btsportrugby, @beinsports_FR, @SuperSportTV and @FloRugby pic.twitter.com/yol8t8mSFW
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 14, 2023
However, the 14 men of Sale dug in over the remainder of the half and frustrated Toulouse by competing aggressively at the breakdown.
The TOP 14 side made several errors when in promising positions, and their only points of the first half would be through full-back Jaminet’s first penalty on 25 minutes.
Sale began to show signs of fatigue after the restart and Toulouse punished any ill-discipline through the boot of Jaminet, the former USAP man adding a further four penalties over a 22-minute flurry.
Toulouse had struggled to find their cutting edge until the final 10 minutes when Meafou powered over and a break from scrum-half Antoine Dupont set up replacement hooker Cramont to cross in the corner.
The two sides’ Pool B campaigns conclude next weekend as Sale visit Ulster Rugby on Saturday and Toulouse host Munster Rugby on Sunday.
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