Montpellier upset Sale Sharks in Heineken Cup

Montpellier opened up in the second half to beat Sale Sharks 33-18 in their Heineken Cup pool 6 clash at Stade Yves Du Manoir

French outside half Francois Trinh Duc turned on the style in the pouring rain
at Stade Yves du Manoir to guide Montpellier to a comfortable win over Sale
Sharks.

Two beautiful chip kicks over the Sharks’ defensive line conjured up tries
for Timoci Nagusa and Julien Tomas and he led the home charge by bagging their
first try.

But while the No 10 took the plaudits, it was the Montpellier front five that
turned the game in their side’s favour.

They blitzed the Sharks pack and it was their effort in pushing the visiting
pack off their own ball 10 minutes after the break that paved the way for the
first try.

John Beattie simply picked the ball up at his feet at No 8, break to the openside
and gave Trinh Duc a clear run to the line 10 metres away.

The Sharks had opened the scoring with the first try of the game after only
four minutes.

Tom Brady sped out of his 22 up to half-way and then Danny Cipriani kicked
cross-field for England wing Mark Cueto to score his first try of the season.

By half-time the boot of Argentinean wing Martin Bustos Moyano had pushed Montpellier
into a 12-8 lead, but that Trinh Duc try sparked the home charge.

His first chip kick allowed Nagusa to show off his power and pace to reach
the left corner and then Tomas was given a brilliant inside pass to run the
length of the 22 to score at the posts.

The only thing that didn’t go right for the home side was they failed to bag
a bonus point after scoring three tries in an hour.

Instead, the Sharks had the final word with a 74th minute try from replacement
back row man Richie Vernon which Rob Miller converted off the right touchline.

Final Score Montpellier 33 (12) Sale 18 (8)

Scorers

Montpellier
Tries: Trinh-Duc, Nagusa, Tomas
Penalties: Bustos Moyana 4
Conversions: Bustos Moyana 3

Sale Sharks
Tries: Cueto, Vernon
Penalties: Miller 2
Conversions: Miller

Match Officials
Referee: Neil Paterson (Sco),
Assistant ref: David Changleng,
Assistant ref: Adrian Graves,
TMO: Iain Ramage,
Citing Commissioner: Roberto Carra

Teams

Montpellier: Lucas Amorosino; Pierre Berard, Timoci Nagusa, Shontayne Hape, Martin Bustos Moyano; Francois Trinh-Duc, Julien Tomas; Juan Figallo, Agustin Creevy, Maximiliano Bustos, Aliki Fakate, Thibault Privat, Fulgence Ouedraogo (c), Mamuka Gorgodze, John Beattie

Replacements: Erasmus Van Vuuren, Yvan Watremez, Vincent Pelo, Mickael De Marco, Alexandre Bias, Benoit Paillaugue, Santiago Fernandez, Thomas Combezou

Sale Sharks: Rob Miller; Tom Brady, Will Addison, Mark Jennings, Mark Cueto; Daniel Cipriani, Cillian Willis; Eifion Roberts, Joe Ward, Tony Buckley, Fraser McKenzie, Kearnan Myall, James Gaskell, David Seymour (c), Mark Easter.

Replacements: Tommy Taylor, Ross Harrison, Vadim Cobilas, Richie Vernon, Andrew Powell, Nathan Fowles, Nick MacLeod, Johnny Leota.

With thanks ERCRugby.