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Sale et Northampton se retrouvent jeudi soir (21h au AJ Bell Stadium) en quart de finale de l'Amin Challenge Cup pour une belle fratricide. Les deux formations se sont en effet déjà rencontrées deux fois cette saison
Sale Sharks Director of Rugby Steve Diamond insists his side are not daunted by Clermont Auvergne as his side jump into the ring with another European Rugby Champions Cup heavyweight.
Pool Two’s first round losers clash at Stade Marcel Michelin on Sunday and only a win will do for the Top 14 front-runners.
They fell at the first hurdle after David Strettle and Chris Ashton both crossed for try-scoring doubles in their 30-23 defeat at Allianz Park.
Sale also have a losing bonus-point to their name after their heartbreaking defeat to Munster. The Manchester side were leading 26-24 heading into the dying embers of the clash, but Ian Keatley recreated Ronan O’Gara’s drop goal heroics of 2011 with one of his own to steal the four points.
Even though Clermont are flying-high at the summit of the Top 14, there is a chink of hope for Diamond’s men, after the Yellow and Blue slipped up at home to Montpellier earlier in the season.
But the Sharks will have to improve on their Premiership form if they are to mount a serious assault against last season’s semi-finalists. Their only two wins this season have come against Premiership basement boys London Welsh and Wasps.
Steve Diamond said: “It’s not hard getting the lads back up after Munster as we came from such a low after being caned at Northampton. It was performance we were after and we got that- we just didn’t cap it with the result that we deserved.
“The challenge this week is probably even harder than going from fighting Tyson to taking on Ali. They’ve hardly been beaten there in the last 60 odd games so the logic tells you we stand no chance.
“But if we get our basics right, get our scrum right and match their physicality and intensity then we stand a chance.
“But I think the pressure is on them 1000 per cent as they have got to win to stay in the reckoning and not only that, they’ve got to win well.”
Clermont head coach Franck Azema said: “The important thing is to take victories in this competition, we can not be satisfied with the match against Saracens because we have not reached our goals. Now we want to switch to victories.
“This competition is played over six matches. We’ve only played one, it's not over, we must now take a win away from this match. In this tightened format of this European Cup, the selection is harder, all teams who play it want to qualify, the Sharks are no exception.”
Match Facts
- Sale Sharks have won both meetings between these sides in this competition, with 13 points being the average margin of victory.
- Sale Sharks’ Johnny Leota made five clean breaks last weekend against Munster, more than any other player in the tournament in round 1.
- ASM Clermont Auvergne’s Nick Abendanon beat more defenders last weekend than any other player in the Champions Cup (9).
- Magnus Lund was one of three players last weekend to make 22 tackles, a joint high in the tournament so far.
ASM Clermont Auvergne came charging back into the reckoning in Pool 1 of the European Rugby Champions Cup with a bonus point
ASM Clermont Auvergne came charging back into the reckoning in Pool 1 of the European Rugby Champions Cup with a bonus point, 35-3 victory over Sale Sharks at a packed Stade Marcel Michelin.
After the disappointment of losing at Saracens in the opening round, the 2013 beaten finalists finally hit their straps in the final quarter as they plundered the two tries they still required to take five points out of the game and move into second place in the Pool.
Fijian wing Napolioni Nalaga was the star of the show as he crossed for two more tries to take his tally to 25 in 32 games – the greatest strike rate in the history of the top tier of European rugby – as he became only the ninth player to reach that landmark.
But it was Heineken Man of the Match Nick Abendanon who began Clermont’s victory charge with a try after 15 minutes that owed much to the good work inside him by Wales and British & Irish Lions centre Jonathan Davies.
Overlooked for the Saracens match, Davies grub kicked through, retrieved the ball and sent his full back racing 40 metres to the line for the try.
Unfortunately for Davies, he left the field suffering with a dislocation of the shoulder immediately after the try. That brought onto the field the talismanic Aurelien Rougerie, who went on to grab the bonus try three minutes from the end.
Sale tackled magnificently and competed manfully at the breakdown, but their line-out malfunctioned once again and cost them dearly. Two of the home tries came from Sale line out throws and they also meekly conceded possession at a line-out five metres out from the Clermont line in the second half.
Danny Cipriani kicked their only points of the game in the first half and it was only 13-3 to the home side at the break. Outside half Camille Lopez converted Abendanon’s try and added two penalties.
The French international No 10 then added a penalty at the start of the second half before setting up Nalaga for his first try with an inch perfect kick-pass cross field from a line-out. The winger took it over the head of his opposite number before weaving his way past the full back and then racing 25 metres to the line.
Lopez missed with his conversion, but then hit the mark off the left hand touchline with two beauties as Nalaga and then Rougerie rounded off the charge for the bonus point.
Clermont now trail Munster by two points and lead Saracens by one. They meet Munster in back to back games in December, starting in Limerick.
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