Sale end Clermont's hopes

Sale Sharks have scored a Heineken Cup double over Clermont Auvergne after winning their Pool One match 26-17 at Edgeley Park.

Already unable to progress to the knockout stages, Sale had little other than pride to play for - their opponents in contrast needing a bonus-point win to stand any chance of reaching the knockout stages.

Indeed, the French side led for long periods of the match but despite tries from Thomas Combezou and Napolioni Vonowale Nalaga, they were eventually trumped by the home side, with Oriol Ripol, Dwayne Peel and David Tait touching down for Sale.

Peel's try must have given the Welshman particular satisfaction after he was left out of Warren Gatland's Six Nations squad earlier in the week.

Both teams showed an immediate ambition to run the ball - the imposing Vonowale-Nalaga in particular making an impression on the left flank for Clermont.

Visiting inside centre Pierre-Manuel Garcia also managed to break through Sale's defence, the move albeit losing momentum when Clermont's other wing, Grant Esterhuizen, was grounded by a tackle.

Hopes take a dive

However, their hopes took a dive after 11 minutes when, against the run of play, Sale scored after gaining turnover ball, the ball being fed left by Peel about five metres out and finding its way to Ripol on the overlap.

Luke McAlister converted before Clermont put their first points on the board three minutes later when Seremaïa Bai kicked a penalty from 40 metres.

Nevertheless, the mid-way point of the opening half saw Sale dominating possession - a full 14 phases put together in pursuit of a second score before Luke Abraham knocked on.

Another two promising breaks resulted in forward passes but the visitors were then right back in it, Anthony Floch breaking from inside his own 22 and later chipping the ball from the left-hand flank towards Sale's line - Combezou winning the race to touch down.

Bai kicked Clermont three points in front but captain Thibaut Privat was soon sin-binned after blatantly coming in from the side right in front of his own posts - McAlister's penalty levelling proceedings.

Clermont knew their cause would be helped immeasurably by another try before half time and, despite being a man down, they duly achieved their aim with a superb score in the 32nd minute.

Floch was again the instigator, the full-back chipping the ball to the left-hand flank and the thundering Vonowale-Nalaga who, after a superb pick-up, fended off three defenders before touching down.

Bai booted the extras once more, although Floch proved less-than-perfect from a dead ball situation when he missed a long-range penalty effort two minutes from the whistle.

Privat returned to the fray just before the interval, there still being time for Sale to close the gap to four points courtesy of McAlister's second penalty.

Clermont soon assumed control in the opening minutes of the second half, although Bai was unable to take advantage after Mark Cueto conceded a penalty in the 48th minute.

Lightning fast

The home side regained territory when a lightning-fast break from McAlister set up Ripol, Clermont's defence coming to the rescue to deny the winger both his and Sale's second try.

After appearing the more likely to score during this period, the French side suffered a blow in the 54th minute when scrum-half John Senio departed with an ankle injury.

Sale then gained ground after Vonowale-Nalaga knocked on, with Clermont compromised yet further when Combezou was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle.

McAlister missed the subsequent penalty attempt but, with Sale now imposing themselves more, he made no such mistake when presented with another just past the hour.

And they finally got back in the lead in the 65th minute when Peel nipped out from behind a scrum on the blindside and sprinted down the right-hand flank, the scrum-half neatly side-stepping Bai before touching down.

McAlister's conversion attempt hit the post and with, Combezou back on the pitch, the stage was set in the last ten minutes for Clermont to try and hit back with the two tries they needed.

However, Sale instead managed to kill the game, the Sharks scoring their third try in the 72nd minute when number eight Tait squeezed in at the right-hand corner.