Saint-Andre Already Eyeing Quarter Final Berth

Even at this early stage of the competition, Sale Sharks coach Philippe Saint-Andre believes that a victory over Munster at Edgeley Park will put his side into prime position to qualify for the quarter finals.

Speaking to Neil Leigh of The Manchester Evening News, the Frenchman said, “We will start with five points and if we can beat them it will put us into prime position to qualify for the quarter-finals. This is what we are about – we want to challenge the best teams in Europe. We have beaten the French finalists for the past two years and now we face the European champions.

“To win,” continued Saint-Andre, “we must play with the same intensity and show the same quality that we displayed in Clermont last weekend. Against Munster you need to be spot-on in every area. They identify any weakness you possess and target it plus they don’t make too many mistakes.”

Despite the fact that Munster struggled past the less fancied of the French sides at home in Pool 1 and Sale harvested a maximum five point from their visit to France, Saint-Andre insists on talking his side into the underdog stall for Sunday’s clash, “It’s a huge, huge game. Munster will start the favourites but we are big challengers. If you want to compete against the best teams you need to be physical, you need to be well- organised and you need to be strong in defence.”

Despite the plaudits thrown the English side’s way following that wn in France, Saint-Andre maintains it will count for nothing if Sale cannot overcome Munster at Edgeley Park.

Sale: Rory Lamont, Mark Cueto, Luke McAlister, Rudi Keil, David Doherty, Richard Wigglesworth, Dwayne Peel, Lionel Faure, Neil Briggs, Eifion Roberts, Sebastien Chabal, Brent Cockbain, Chris Jones, Luke Abrahams, JM Fernandez Lobbe

Replacements: Marc Jones, Stuart Turner, Dean Schofield, Jason White, Charlie Hodgson, Mathew Tait, Chris Bell

“We all know Munster are physical and have a very a strong pack but don’t forget we have very good forwards too.”