Stade Toulousain knocked the wind out of Sale Sharks with a 38-15 win in a Round 16 match of the Investec Champions Cup.
Stade Toulousain fans would’ve soon forgotten that talisman Antoine Dupont was absent when Jack Willis bullied his way through just a minute after the start.
The English star continued his stellar form of late by taking the ball out the back of the ruck to power it over a metre from home.
But anything Stade Toulousain could do, Sale could match - Luke James hit straight back to let the hosts know not everything was going to go their way.
It was a fast start that soon settled down, with both sides having waves in the opposing 22.
Disciplined and well-organised all over the park, Sale were impressive off the ball as much as they were on it. And their nifty hands soon came in useful on the half-hour mark - Jonny Hill’s outstretched arm was long enough to reach the in-goal line and have the Mancunian side in front when the first 40 minutes were up.
Ugo Mola’s half-time speech must have riled up some emotion as the reigning champions came back out for the second-half on the front foot.
Just five minutes had gone by in the second period before François Cros bulldozed his way over, restoring the Toulousain lead.
Sale continued to initially remain solid at the back despite the setback, but it was clear the home side was starting to purr nicely.
Julien Marchand got the chance to add his name to the scoresheet when he fended off oncoming Sharks to leap home.
Stade Toulousain tried their hardest to find a fifth gear, but the Sale defence remained firm for the next 10 minutes.
However, good things come to those who wait, and it was only a matter of time before the six-time champions extended their advantage.
Injuring himself in the process, spritely winger Ange Capuozzo’s defence-splitting charge saw him pierce the Sale line to cross under the posts.
His five points were added to late on by Guillaume Cramont, confirming what was a hard-fought win for the hosts.
But it’ll be a bittersweet Sunday night for Stade Toulousain. The images of Capuozzo leaving the field on a stretcher are sure to haunt quarter-final preparations, but the French side will have the confidence to take the heat on their visit to RC Toulon next week.
Scorers:
Stade Toulousain: Tries: Jack Willis, François Cros, Julien Marchand, Ange Capuozzo, Guillaume Cramont. Conversions: Thomas Ramos (4). Penalty: Thomas Ramos.
Sale Sharks: Tries: Luke James, Jonny Hill. Conversion: George Ford. Penalty: George Ford.
Teams:
Stade Toulousain: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Ange Capuozzo, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Blair Kinghorn, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Paul Graou, 8 Alexandre Roumat, 7 Jack Willis, 6 François Cros, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Julien Marchand (c), 1 David Ainu’u. Replacements: 16 Guillaume Cramont, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Joel Merkler, 19 Clement Verge, 20 Anthony Jelonch, 21 Mathis Castro-Ferreira, 22 Juan-Cruz Mallia, 23 Paul Costes.
Sale Sharks: 15 Luke James, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Robert du Preez, 12 Rekeiti Maasi-White, 11 Arron Reed, 10 George Ford, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Jean-Luc du Preez, 7 Ben Curry (c), 6 Tom Curry, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Ernst van Rhyn, 3 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Si McIntyre. Replacements: 16 Tadgh McElroy, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Willgriff John, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Ben Bamber, 21 Sam Dugdale, 22 Nye Thomas, 23 Tom O’Flaherty.