Rugby / Heineken Cup / Sale Sharks 27 Munster 13: It could have been worse, it could have been better, but in the final analysis a four points to nil haul in favour of the English Premiership leaders was hard to quibble with.
Sale's unremitting physicality eventually blew Munster away with something to spare.
Few teams in this competition boast the collection of ball carriers Sale possess, led by their human battering ram Sebastien Chabal and able assistants Jason White, Andrew Sheridan and for last half-hour impact, Sebastien Bruno.
In the face of a barrage of close-in pick-and-go drives, Munster put their bodies on the line as best they could, but it exacted a toll and by comparison their own handling and retention of the ball in contact was poor.
Sale won the collisions, and won the match. Pretty much end of story. Two mistakes cost dearly and furthermore, Charlie Hodgson - unerringly locating the corners - had the dimensions of this short pitch down to a tee.
Ultimately, Munster weren't a million miles away from a bonus point, especially when Hodgson hauled down Shaun Payne from behind after an isolated, well-worked backline incision near the end, although they could have no complaints save, perhaps, for Joel Jutge's one-eyed refereeing.
Certainly he seemed only to have eyes for Munster, Sale escaping with all manner of offsides and hands on the deck in a 15-5 penalty count to the home team by the French referee. Declan Kidney admitted it was disappointing, adding: "it's very frustrating to come away from here without even a point. We gave away far too many penalties which is something we're going to have to look into.
"We now face a massive challenge against Castres next week."
As is custom, Munster were officially only granted 1,500 tickets or so, but a good number obtained plenty more by their own methods. In a crackling atmosphere on Stockport County's compact little ground, encouragingly The Fields of Athenry echoed loudly around the ground, although soon it was giving way to chants of "Say-el".
That was because the athletic man mountain Chris Jones nicked Frankie Sheahan's first throw and Hodgson punished them further for pushing up offside but although Munster's scrum was shunted back at the first put-in, when Sheridan was penalised for going to ground after the reset, O'Gara levelled matters from a notional 45 metres.
The lineout steadied but Munster didn't help their cause by thrice conceding throw-ins to Sale inside their own 10-metre line due to conservative touchfinds by Barry Murphy, Ronan O'Gara and John Kelly.
But although Hodgson regained the home lead with a penalty after a procession of pick-and-go drives, Munster's fringe defence held firm, the older hands up front forced turnovers and the young bloods, Tomás O'Leary and Barry Murphy didn't look fazed. When Sale did go wide, fully half an hour into the game, Mark Taylor coughed it up after a big hit by Marcus Horan, who was soon 70 metres up the pitch after a good old kick and chase along the deck by O'Gara and co in forcing Hodgson into a rushed touchfinder.
Striking stealthily after absorbing all that pressure, a 20-metre lineout drive ended with Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe binned for bringing it down; Alan Quinlan then taking on Donncha O'Callaghan's tap down and Sheahan joining in for the almost inevitable try. O'Gara converted but, disappointingly Hodgson made it a one-point game with the last kick of the half. When Munster briefly, fleetingly, got their backrowers rumbling out wide and patterns going, O'Gara extended the lead after Mark Taylor took out Kelly off the ball, but then it started to unravel.
Quinlan was helped off with a knee injury which will be examined on Monday, Kidney opting for the height and bulk of Trevor Hogan rather than the ball-carrying of David Wallace, then Sheahan was yellow carded for delaying ruck ball from the deck as Hodgson tapped over the penalty.
Hogan was immediately sacrificed for a succession of scrums for Jerry Flannery to replace Sheahan and though Munster wheeled one against the head, on their own put-in O'Leary slipped behind a retreating scrum in attempting to pick up, and Sililo Martens pounced for Hodgson's conversion to make it 19-13.
Sale's superior physicality reached its apex when Federico Pucciariello was almost lifted back to Argentina via Italy by Chabal. The spillage was eminently forgivable, and when Hodgson kicked the turnover downfield Jason Robinson looked to be several yards offside. Nonetheless he accelerated past to kick on and score.
A quadruple substitution revived Munster, especially Peter Stringer's snappier and lengthier pass, but Hodgson closed out the game with a touchline penalty.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 3 mins: Hodgson pen 3-0; 11: O'Gara pen 3-3; 20: Hodgson pen 6-3; 36: Sheahan try, O'Gara con 6-10; 40 (+4): Hodgson pen 9-10 (half-time 9-10); 47: O'Gara pen 9-13; 51: Hodgson pen 12-13; 58: Martens try, Hodgson con 19-13; 68: Robinson try 24-13; 80: Hodgson pen 27-13.
SALE SHARKS: J Robinson (capt); M Cueto, M Taylor, E Seveali'i, S Hanley; C Hodgson, S Martens; A Sheridan, A Titterrell, S Turner, I Fernandez Lobbe, C Jones, J White, M Lund, S Chabal. Replacements: S Bruno for Titterrell (48 mins), B Stewart for Turner (64 mins), D Larrechea for Hanley (65 mins), D Schofield for Fernandez-Lobbe (66 mins), V Current for S Martens (74 mins), C Day for Jones (76 mins), R Todd for Seveali'I (77 mins). Sinbinned: Fernandez Lobbe (34-41 mins).
MUNSTER: S Payne; J Kelly, B Murphy, G Connolly, A Pitout; R O'Gara, T O'Leary; M Horan, F Sheahan, J Hayes, D O'Callaghan, M O'Driscoll, A Quinlan, D Leamy, A Foley (capt). Replacements: J Flannery for Sheahan (43-48 mins and 73 mins) and for Hogan (56-64 mins), T Hogan for Quinlan (49 mins), F Pucciariello for Hayes, D Wallace for Leamy, P Stringer for O'Leary (all 73 mins). Not used: J Manning, R Henderson. Sinbinned: Sheahan (51)
Referee: Joel Jutge (France)
