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Sale's Jason White is stopped in his tracks

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Sale Sharks missed out on the Guinness Premiership play-offs after losing 17-7 to London Irish at Edgeley Park on the final day of the regular season.

The Sharks' defeat allowed Leicester Tigers, who beat Harlequins 31-28, to leapfrog them into fourth spot and claim a coveted post-season spot.

Philippe Saint-Andre's men found themselves 12-0 down at the break after a first-half horror show in which they were outwitted, outfought and above all outpaced by the impressive Exiles.

Tries from wing Topsy Ojo and centre Seilala Mapusua were the least the visitors deserved against an uninspired Sale outfit.

Mapusa claimed his second in the closing stages to cap an exhilarating display of counter-attacking rugby from the visitors and although replacement Chris Bell replied late on for Sale, the hosts had long since surrendered the points.

Destiny

Sale began the day in fourth place and in control of their own destiny as a victory would have guaranteed them fourth and - depending on other results - possibly moved them up as high as fourth.

But they had no answer to the Exiles' skilful half-back pairing of Eoghan Hickey and Paul Hodgson, and with Shane Geraghty provided additional guile and craft from inside centre, Irish cut their opponents to pieces at times during the first half.

London Irish's opening try came in the 19th minute after Richard Wigglesworth's offload was intercepted and punished in devastating fashion by Ojo, who ran it back from inside his own half for the score. Hickey added the conversion for a 7-0 lead.

Four minutes later, the Exiles had their second try when Sailosi Tagicakibau beat several defenders on the left flank and passed inside to Mapusa, allowing the centre to saunter over the whitewash.

This time, Hickey could not convert and he and Hodgson also missed a penalty before the break to ensure the Exiles stayed 12-0 in front.

Sale improved in the second half - it would have been difficult not to - but they still failed to find a way through a resolute Irish rearguard, despite the introduction of Sebastien Bruno and England pair Andrew Sheridan and Mark Cueto.

Even when Irish replacement Richard Thorpe was sin-binned - before being followed shortly after by captain Bob Casey - the visitors held firm.

Mapusa raced down the left wing for his second in the closing stages and although Bell responded for Sale with a try converted by Luke McAlister, it was not nearly enough.