Sale director of rugby Philippe Saint-Andre paid tribute to Montauban after the French side claimed their first victory in the Heineken Cup.
Frenchman hails 'very good' Cup newcomers
Sale director of rugby Philippe Saint-Andre paid tribute to Montauban after the French Top 14 side claimed their first victory in the Heineken Cup.
Vilimoni Delasau touched down for the game's only try in wet conditions to knock Sharks off the top of Pool One with a 16-12 triumph.
"We are disappointed with the result but the conditions were extremely difficult with the wind and rain," he said.
"I must congratulate Montauban, they were a very good team, they defended extremely well and they took their opportunities when they got them.
"However, they had the bounce of the ball for their try that came from a loose ball on the ground."
The results leaves Sale two points behind Munster with just two rounds remaining in the race to reach the quarter-finals.
"This was always going to be a very difficult pool to get out of," Saint-Andre added. "We always knew we would probably have to beat Munster and Clermont in the final two rounds of games and this result has not changed anything."
Montauban captain Marc Renaud was pleased his players put off-the-field shenanigans behind them to claim an historic win.
"I think tonight we showed what a great group of players we have and, with all that is going on in the background, we were able to come and beat one of the best teams in Europe," he said.
"We are adamant that we do not want to finish bottom of this pool so Munster are going to have to work hard to beat us here and I think we have shown that we are competitive in this competition."
