Sale Sharks continued their unbeaten home form this season as they beat Stade Francais Paris 28-5 in the Champions Cup.
Tries from Tom O’Flaherty, Jonny Hill, and Sam Dugdale, three penalties from George Ford, and two Tom Curtis conversions meant that Stade’s try from Jeremy Ward counted for nothing.
Stade came into the fixture as heavy favourites, but this performance will need much assessment before their next game at home to Leicester Tigers.
Sharks pressurised Stade right from kickoff, and Sale believed they had opened the scoring in the 13th minute with an ingenious try.
A kick over the top of the Stade rush defence from Gus Warr was touched down by Joe Carpenter, but the referee ruled it out as he deemed the full back to have knocked the ball when grounding.
The referee brought the play back to an earlier Stade infringement, and Ford slotted the penalty through the posts to make it 3-0 to Sale.
Stade struggled throughout the half due to a superb Sale defence, but one magical move by the Parisians undid this in the 26th minute.
Ward touched down as the French side worked the ball across the back line before breaking the line and throwing a couple of off-loads for the centre to run in the try.
Sale won a penalty just before halftime, 40 metres out, but in front of the posts, with Ford converting to make the score 6-5.
Tom Roebuck will rue the opportunity he squandered as he pounced on a loose Stade pass, but he could not gather his kick chase due to a heavy touch, meaning there remained a point between them at the interval.
Sale’s dominance continued in the second half as early pressure brought a penalty that was once again expertly scored by Ford to make the score 9-5.
Swiftly, the Sharks scored their first try in the 53rd minute through O’Flaherty in the corner after Sale worked it through the hands down the narrow side.
Sale added their second try in the 64th minute as Hill crashed over the try line before being replaced.Tom Curtis added the conversion impressively from a difficult angle to make the score 21-5.
Dugdale added a third try in the final stages before Curtis added his second conversion to secure the victory for Sharks.
They will now turn their attention to Irish giants Leinster as they face the four-time European Champions in Dublin next weekend.
Scorers
Sale Sharks: O’Flaherty (try) Hill (try) Dugdale (try) Curtis (Con x2) Ford (Pen x3)
Stade Francais: Ward (try)
Feature Image: Brendan McGilligan
