Sale off to winning start in Amlin Cup

Sale Sharks have made a winning start to their Amlin Challenge Cup campaign with a 33-10 win over Biarritz at the AJ Bell stadium tonight.
The Sharks crossed the line through Andrei Ostrikov as well as a being awarded two penalty tries while Joe Ford kicked 16 points with the boot.
A drop-goal and two penalties from Ford against one from Julien Peyrelongue put Sale 9-3 in front before a penalty try extended the lead to 16-3 at the break.
Biarritz tried to spark a reply early in the second half but, from a turnover, Ostrikov raced over from 40 yards to put the game out of reach with 30 minutes to go.
The Basques managed to get over the line with Eugene van Staden barging his way over from close range but it was Sale who finished the game on the front foot.
The try bonus-point was in sight after they were awarded a second penalty try but they couldn’t cross the line again in the last ten minutes.
In the other games tonight, Bayonne beat Grenoble 37-6 while Stade Francais thumped Lusitanos 61-3.