Sale Sharks were eliminated from this season’s Champions Cup as they came up short in their 37-24 defeat at the hands of La Rochelle.
The current European Champions demonstrated to everyone at a blustery AJ Bell Stadium why they hold that title, as tries from Dillyn Leyds, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Antoine Hastoy, and Ulupano Seuteni, along with 15 points from Hastoy’s boot, brought the victory.
Tries from Tom Roebuck, Augustin Creevy, Sam Dugdale, and Telusa Veainu, while George Ford’s two conversions were not enough for the English side, as they tried to bridge the incredibly evident gulf in class between the sides, which was evident throughout proceedings.
Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle continue their march to make history by becoming Champions Cup champions for the third consecutive time, becoming the second side to achieve this, while Sale will continue their European journey in the Challenge Cup.
Sale started the game sharply and almost opened the scoring in the 7th minute with their quick offloads and supportive runs from Rob Du Preez, Gus Warr, and Tom Roebuck before the latter knocked the ball on as he stretched for the try line.
Despite Shark’s encouraging start, they were 7-0 down two minutes later when Du Preez’s grubber kick on the halfway line was charged down by Yoan Tang and seized upon by Leyds, with the winger running the ball across the try line for five points before Hastoy added the conversion.
Hastoy extended La Rochelle’s lead to ten points with a penalty in the 15th minute following ill-discipline by Sale in the ruck.
The French side started to dominate the game from that point as their hulking pack dominated the collisions and the breakdown, but they failed to add to their advantage because of plucky Sale defending before the half-hour mark.
However, La Rochelle made it 13-0 in the 37th minute with another penalty from the boot of Hastoy awarded for an offside to bring about the end of a seven-minute surge of Sale pressure.
Sharks conceded a further three points on the stroke of halftime once again from the boot of Hastoy, as he brought the score to 16-0 with an expertly struck penalty in testing conditions.
Sale suffered the worst start possible to the second half as Levani Botia’s turnover in his defensive 22 was then moved quickly across the backline before La Rochelle ran the length of the field with Hastoy touching the ball down between the posts before adding the conversion to make it 23-0.
Sale were 30-0 down four minutes later after an explosive line break by the French side’s hooker got him within touching distance of the try line before quick thinking allowed scrumhalf Kerr-Barlow to score La Rochelle’s third try of the match before Hastoy added a further two points.
Sharks will rue their inability to remain within the chalk as Roebuck was denied a try in the 49th minute as he was tackled beyond the touchline before two minutes later Arron Reed stepped out of play before touching the ball down over the try line to stop Sale opening their account for the match.
Roebuck would not be denied for a third time as he scored Sale’s first point with a try in the 59th minute as Sharks moved the ball wide quickly from a lineout in the La Rochelle 22-metre line.
La Rochelle were reduced to 14 men for 10 minutes, with flyhalf Hastoy being awarded a yellow card in the 65th minute.
O’Gara’s side lost another man to the sin bin two minutes later as Brice Dulin was shown a yellow card for a high challenge on Reed, with the winger going off the field for a head injury assessment.
Sale would take full advantage of this two-man advantage as Agustin Creevy scored off the resultant lineout from the penalty awarded for the foul on Reed before George Ford added the conversion.
La Rochelle secured the bonus point victory to the rapturous cheers of their large travelling contingent in the 72nd minute as Seuteni intercepted Ford’s wide pass to run the ball in between the posts, giving Hugo Reus an easy conversion to make the score 37-12.
Dugdale got Sale’s third try in the 78th minute from a quick tap and go penalty on the La Rochelle try line before Ford added two points with the conversion.
There was still time for Sale to secure a bonus point, as they scored their fourth try of the game through replacement Veainu after the 80th minute mark to round off Sale’s Champions Cup campaign with a 37-24 defeat.
Scorers:
Sale Sharks: Roebuck (Try), Creevy (Try), Veainu (Try), Ford (Con)
La Rochelle: Leyds (Try), Kerr-Barlow (Try), Hastoy (Try, Pen x3, Con x3), Seuteni (Try), Reus (Con)
