Sale all set for mammoth task

Sale go into the Round 6 encounter knowing that only a bonus-point victory will give them any chance of making it through to the Heineken Cup quarter-finals.

Achieving such a feat under extreme pressure against any opposition would be a massive achievement but doing so against the most successful team in European history is surely a daunting task.

While Toulouse have been crowned Heineken Cup winners on three separate occasions, Sale have only once reached the last eight of the continent's premier competition.

The 1996, 2003 and 2005 champions are in fine form having already secured qualification for the knockout stages but that doesn't mean the Sharks will be happy to lay down and die come Sunday afternoon.

"Toulouse are one of the best sides in Europe and have the best record in the Heineken Cup over the years," said Sale's England wing Mark Cueto.

"They will arrive with a 4/5 record and will be looking to win to guarantee a home quarter final.

"We know we can't go through as a group winner but we could go through as one of the two runners up. Failing that the least we want from this weekend is one of the three quarter-final places in the Amlin Challenge Cup."

Sale had hoped to make Sunday's encounter a winner-takes-all affair but Cardiff Blues spoilt that particular party in Round 5.

The Sharks travelled to the Welsh capital knowing that a second win over the Blues would give even greater edge to what was already being billed as 'the biggest ever game of rugby in the north west'.

But Sale slipped to a 36-19 defeat that kept the Blues' own slim chances of qualification alive while handing Toulouse the chance to qualify with a week to spare.

"It was a massive disappointment. We went their looking for a win to carry on the good work after beating Quins home and away in December," said Cueto of the defeat to the Blues.

"Credit to Cardiff though, who kept the scoreboard ticking over. When a player like Ben Blair is kicking everything and Leigh Halfpenny landed a penalty from near the halfway line, you know you have to be on form to beat them.

"Saying that, we had scored three tries to their two until stoppage time at the end of the game and that is really a bitter pill to swallow.

"Being brutally honest, we didn't perform as a team and we need to put the game behind us, but we also need to make sure we learn from it."

"The lads are very disappointed as we had the opportunity to go down there and set up a big game with Toulouse," added Sale flanker James Gaskell.

"We didn't turn up on the day. Their pack put a lot of pressure on us and we didn't get the result we wanted, but there are a few positives we can take, and we need to remember them this weekend."