Sale 6 Montpellier 27: Leinster's hopes of qualifying for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals as one of two best runners-up suffered another blow last night after Montpellier secured a winning bonus point at Sale, lifting the French side to 18 points ahead of their final pool match at home to Toulon.
With Leinster currently on 10 points – and only able to reach a maximum of 20 – the result was bad news for Joe Schmidt’s defending champions. Northampton’s failure to secure a bonus point against Castres could yet have a bearing on the final outcome, with the English side now unable to top Ulster’s group.
The Saints moved up to 14 points overall, just four ahead of Leinster but having played one game more. Leinster take on the Scarlets at the RDS this evening knowing nothing less than a bonus point win will suffice if they are to retain any hope of reaching the last eight.
Sale suffered a fourth consecutive defeat by French opposition in the competition as Montpellier kept alive their qualification hopes at the City of Salford Stadium. Sharks opted to give run-outs to fringe players and were no match for their star-studded visitors.
Montpellier made it four successive wins while a bonus point enabled them to draw level with Toulon, who play Cardiff today before hosting their pool six rivals at Stade Yves du Manoir in their final match next Saturday.
