Sale look to continue strong start at Toulouse
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Sale Sharks will be hoping to make it two wins from two in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup but face a daunting task in the form of a trip to five-time champions Stade Toulousain on Saturday.
Sale underlined their credentials in Round 1 with a commanding 39-0 victory over Ulster Rugby, but the Gallagher Premiership side will face one of the tournament’s most elite sides at Stade Ernest Wallon.
Toulouse showed they will once again be a force in this season’s competition as they battled to a commendable 18-13 triumph at Munster Rugby in the opening round.
The Pool B encounter kicks off at 13:00 (UK & Irish time) and is available to watch on France TV, beIN SPORTS, BT Sport, SuperSport and FloRugby.
Key quotes
Sale fly-half George Ford: “You look traditionally over the years, and they’ve been at the top of the European rugby and they’ve been there for a long time. We’re coming up against teams who are at the very top of their game with top international players. As a player, that’s what you want to do – to test yourself against those people. It’s something we’ll really have a crack at.”
Stade Toulousain
- Made the fewest metres in contact (20) in Round 1.
- Kicked the ball in play more times than any other side (38). Eleven of these kicks found grass and eight were retained.
- Were the only team in the opening round not to lose a single attacking ruck.
Sale Sharks
- Conceded the fewest penalties in Round 1 (five). They also finished the round with the highest ball retention rate at the ruck (98%).
- Made the most running metres (54), beat the most defenders (32), and made the most clean breaks (14) in win against Ulster.
- Robert du Preez made a round-high five break assists. No other player managed more than three.
