Saturday 20 September 2014 17:43, UK
Sale director of rugby Steve Diamond acknowledged there is plenty of room for improvement after his side secured their first win of the Aviva Premiership season at the expense of London Welsh.
The Exiles had produced a spirited display for 65 minutes, going into the last quarter of an hour just 18-8 down, with Nic Reynolds scoring Welsh's try.
However, once Tom Arscott crossed the whitewash in the second period, the visitors crumbled and conceded further scores through Tom Brady, Arscott - his hat-trick try - and Luke McLean as the hosts ran out 46-8 winners.
Although Diamond was pleased with the result, he insisted there was more to come, saying: "We stressed all week that the side that comes up will generally struggle with the pace of the game and we wanted to try and keep the intensity high.
"The fresh legs made a difference - it gave us some impetus. Danny (Cipriani) is playing well and spread the ball around.
"It wasn't a great performance by us, to be honest. We were scrappy in some areas. But credit to them, they are very dogged and they're good at the set-piece, so we had to work hard for it.
"We're making some elementary errors - it's where we've been all year, to be honest. We've just got to try and eradicate them.
"We come across Saracens, Northampton and Wasps in the next few weeks and, if you make those basic mistakes, it costs you dearly."
Welsh head coach Justin Burnell blamed "individual errors" for their capitulation, having been just 10 points down with 15 minutes to go.
"You think with a few minutes to go you're still in it," Burnell said. "Just in crucial areas we made some mistakes early on and then all of a sudden it gets to a decisive moment and we have a crucial lapse in concentration.
"We fumble the ball and we lose possession and, in all fairness, they capitalise on it. It's like anything - once they're on the front foot, their tails are up and the floodgates opened. It was the same old story - people dropping off.
"It's execution, it's skill and it's the individual errors - I think that was the biggest disappointment. At this level, the Aviva Premiership, you make a mistake and you will be penalised."
