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Sale Sharks held off a fierce Ospreys fightback to launch their Heineken Champions Cup campaign with a 21-13 victory in Swansea.
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Alex Sanderson’s team cruised into a 21-3 lead midway through the first-half after tries from centre Rohan Janse Van Rensburg, hooker Ewan Ashman and lock Jean-Luc Du Preez, with AJ MacGinty converting all three scores.
The Ospreys managed a Gareth Anscombe penalty in reply, and they looked down and out before dominating the second period, helped by Sale lock Lood De Jager and flanker Ben Curry being sin-binned.
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De Jager received his yellow card just before the interval, and Sale played the second half a man down for 17 minutes.
Wing Luke Morgan scored a try for the home side, with substitute Josh Thomas adding a penalty and conversion, and Sanderson will know it ended up being a lot closer than it should have been.
Ultimately, though, it was an important away win that sets Sale up for a full-scale tilt against French heavyweights Clermont Auvergne at the AJ Bell Stadium next weekend.
Ospreys boss Toby Booth handed European Cup debuts to full-back Mat Protheroe and flanker Will Griffiths, with Wales international scrum-half Rhys Webb captaining the team.
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Sale, European quarter-finalists last season, were led by Tom Curry, whose twin brother Ben joined him in the back-row, while there were also starts for England newcomers Raffi Quirke and Bevan Rodd.
It had been a difficult and emotional week for the Ospreys after one of their players – 25-year-old hooker Ifan Phillips – suffered life-changing injuries following a road traffic collision.
'I honestly believe it was money well spent. It is hard to convince (club) owners because it is intangible what you are trying to build, but it’s crucial.' #OSPvSHAhttps://t.co/A4qsVmKNbh
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 12, 2021
In tribute to their colleague, the Ospreys squad all wore shirts with the number two and Phillips’ name on them during the warm-up.
Sale swept into a third-minute lead when Van Rensburg capitalised on woeful Ospreys midfield defence, brushing off two tacklers and claiming a try that MacGinty converted.
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Although Anscombe opened the home side’s account through a ninth-minute penalty, they soon fell further behind as Sale’s juggernaut pack drove a close-range lineout and Ashman touched down.
MacGinty’s conversion made it 14-3, and the Ospreys already had a mountain to climb following an opening phase dominated by the Sale forwards.
The Ospreys could not establish any foothold in Sale’s half, and the visitors had no intention of letting their domination slip.
'There are times now when I speak to players and they are unaware I grew up in league and had three or four seasons in Super League' @heagneyl ??? talks to @ospreys 10 @StephenMyler about life in Wales, converting to union, goal-kicking & more #OSPvSAL https://t.co/OEig1PR4Rn
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 12, 2021
Further relentless pressure resulted in a try for Du Preez, again converted by MacGinty, and Sale were chasing a bonus point with barely a quarter of the game gone.
The Ospreys enjoyed a belated spell of pressure as the interval approached, and their cause was helped when De Jager received a yellow card from Italian referee Andrea Piardi.
It came following several Sale technical infringements, but the visitors comfortably kept Ospreys at bay and they completed an impressive opening 40 minutes’ work by holding an 18-point advantage.
Anscombe did not return for the second period after failing a head injury assessment, being replaced by Thomas, and Ospreys immediately blew a golden try-scoring opportunity created by Protheroe’s searing break, but Webb could not deliver a scoring pass.
Webb, though, made amends shortly afterwards when he floated a long pass to Morgan, who finished impressively in the corner, with Thomas converting to cut the deficit.
It was a strong third quarter from the Ospreys, and a successful Thomas penalty hinted at further potential of an unlikely comeback.
Sale again did not help themselves, with Ben Curry collecting a yellow card 11 minutes from time, and the pressure continued to mount.
But Sale held on, and were only narrowly denied a bonus-point score in final minute when Quirke just failed to ground the ball ahead of Ospreys centre Michael Collins.
