Sale coach Philippe Saint-Andre cut a furious figure after seeing his side outplayed in a 20-12 defeat at London Irish.
Sharks coach lambasts side after Exiles defeat
Sale coach Philippe Saint-Andre cut a furious figure after seeing his side comprehensively outplayed in a 20-12 defeat at London Irish.
The Sharks were flattered by the scoreline as their opponents underlined their superiority with three well-taken tries.
The defeat sees Sale slip out of the title play-off zone and Saint-Andre was hugely disappointed by his team's display.
"We don't deserve to be in the top four with a performance like that," he stated.
"It was our worst performance of the season. I don't know how many mistakes we made - it was a very bad day for us.
"Irish played with a lot of commitment and passion, and it was a case of being patient against them and keeping the ball, but we didn't do it."
Sale were without the services of the injured Charlie Hodgson and looked largely rudderless as a consequence, but Saint-Andre insisted the defeat could not just be blamed on the England fly-half's absence.
"Charlie is very important to us, but today we couldn't catch the ball or keep it for more than three phases. We didn't deserve to win," he added.
"I was expecting something much better than we showed. If we continue to play like this, I don't think many of our players will be involved in the Six Nations."
Booth delighted
Irish coach Toby Booth was understandably delighted with his side's efforts and reserved particular praise for the Exiles pack.
"We had a lot of endeavour, and the difference between this week and last week against Leicester was we were quite clinical," he said.
"If you can get quick ball on the front foot, it makes a world of difference.
"The scrum was also a big focus for us. Andrew Sheridan and Sebastien Bruno are formidable in the Sale front-row, but Tonga Lea'aetoa scrummaged incredibly well.
"It was a really pleasing aspect of our game."
Booth also hailed the showing of Shane Geraghty who set up two tries and provided a constant source of creativity in the Irish back-line.
"Shane has been out for a long time through injury, Booth added. "But he has put about three games together now, and we are starting to see some of the touches that got him into the England fold last season.
"He believes he can score from anywhere on the pitch, and we don't want to coach that out of him.
"We went out with a view to get involved and get in among them, which set the foundations for a decent performance."
