Both clubs may come to regret the loss of a Heineken Cup bonus point on Saturday but Cardiff Blues the more.
That Sale Sharks were within reach of one, possibly two, points was remarkable in the light of the pummelling they took at the Cardiff City Stadium, but the Welsh side should have made hay when Sale were reduced to 14 men.
David Young, the Blues’ director of rugby, will travel to the Stoop for the final match in pool five against Harlequins next Saturday hoping for second place, at present occupied by Sale. But his team blew hot and cold when another point would have given them a better chance of taking that position.
Toulouse will top the pool and will take on Sale on Sunday in relaxed mood. Kingsley Jones, Sale’s director of rugby, did not mince his words after a display that explained why his side linger in the bottom half of the Guinness Premiership.
“I think any team in the Heineken Cup would have beaten us on that performance,” Jones said. “Our basics were poor. Kicking, passing, discipline let us down. The tackle was the one place we stole some ball, but there weren’t too many positives to take away.”
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Nor did Jones retreat behind lack of preparation: the bad weather allowed Sale only two reasonable training runs, one of them conducted below freezing point, but they are not alone in that respect.
They were killed off by two Cardiff tries just after the interval, Richie Rees scampering over on the blind side of a ruck and Bradley Davies cruising onto a pass from Taufau Filise. Young loaded his second row with heavyweights in Davies and Deiniol Jones to take on Sale at the set-pieces and his tactical approach was successful.
But the Blues, with Xavier Rush to the fore, did not trust their backs enough and paid when Martin Halsall, Sale’s tight-head prop, was sent to the sin-bin. Leading 29-12, they had the chance to put the match beyond reach but Sale held out and created a try for the hugely promising James Gaskell. Rush slammed the door in injury time and if Cardiff do not hang on to him, they may regret that, too.
Scorers: Cardiff Blues: Tries: Rees (43min), Davies (47), Rush (80+1). Conversions: Blair 3. Penalty goals: Blair 4 (3, 21, 34, 56), Halfpenny (30). Sale Sharks: Tries: Koyamaibole (7), Tait (49), Gaskell (78). Conversions: Hodgson 2.
Scoring sequence (Cardiff first): 3-0, 3-5, 6-5, 9-5, 12-5 (half-time), 19-5, 26-5, 26-12, 29-12, 29-19, 36-19.
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Cardiff Blues: B Blair; L Halfpenny, C Laulala (rep: T Shanklin, 70), J Roberts, T James; C Sweeney (rep: S Norton-Knight, 78), R Rees (rep: G Cooper, 72); G Jenkins, G Williams (rep: R Thomas, 71), T Filise (rep: G Powell, 66), B Davies, D Jones (rep: P Tito, 57), A Powell, M Williams (sin-bin, 80), X Rush.
Sale Sharks: N Macleod; M Cueto, M Tait, L Thomas (rep: J Kennedy, 60), B Cohen (rep: D Doherty, 70); C Hodgson, D Peel (rep: R Wigglesworth, 54); E Roberts, N Briggs (rep: M Jones, 57), M Halsall (sin-bin, 66-76; rep: G Kerr, 76), D Schofield, J Gaskell (rep: C Jones, 78), C Fearns, D Seymour (rep: Kerr, 66-76), S Koyamaibole (rep: L Abraham, 62).
Referee: R Poite (France). Attendance: 9,172.
? Toulouse beat Harlequins 33-21 in the other match in pool five yesterday, securing a bonus point in the process. Florian Fritz bagged the opening try before second-half scores from Jean Bouilhou, C?dric Heymans and Maxime M?dard confirmed Harlequins’ fifth straight defeat in the pool.