Sale Set The Tone For Super Start

But captain Jason Robinson sounds a note of caution on the Round 2 challenge of going into the Dragons' den after an opening weekend packed with drama, suspense, surprises and rugby of the highest quality and intensity.

"What a weekend to set the tournament alight - some of the results will have really made people sit up and take notice," said the former England captain.

"The sponsors and organisers must be delighted because a lot of the pre-tournament talk was all about how the French were going to dominate.

"But fair play to the Ospreys, Edinburgh and Bath for their wins over Stade Francais, Wasps and Leinster, they have helped set the tone for what promises to be another magnificent tournament.

"And that is not forgetting our next opponents, Newport Gwent Dragons. They put in an excellent performance at Castres and coming away with a losing bonus point was quite some achievement.

"There is no hiding place and no resting place in this tournament.

"We know we are in for a tough game on Friday night because I think last weekend's results certainly underlined just how true it is that there are simply no easy games in the Heineken Cup.

"It means the ones most likely to qualify for the quarter-finals are those who set and maintain high standards but don't be surprised if some of the big guns fall in the Pool stages. That is how tough this competition is to win.

"Our biggest result before last Friday was beating Leinster at Lansdowne Road in 2003 - and then seeing the wheels fall off and getting turned over 23-16 by them the following week when they came to our place.

"We do believe in ourselves and our ability but this is a massive game coming up and we are certainly not taking anything for granted in a group that means we face back-to-back games against Castres in Rounds 3 and 4 in December."

Sale have tasted success on the European stage, winning the European Challenge Cup in 2002 and last season, but now the current Guinness Premiership leaders are setting their sights on European club rugby's ultimate prize.

"We are looking forward to going to Newport and, although I will be playing at Rodney Parade for the first time, our Welsh coach Kingsley Jones has told me just what to expect from what he says is a typical Welsh ground with the crowd almost on top of you," he said.

"The whole of Welsh rugby seems to be buzzing at the moment and, when the Dragons turned Leicester over in the Powergen Cup, that was a real result and statement of their intent under new coach Paul Turner.

"The Dragons all play for each other - much as we do at Sale - and we expect it to be something of a repeat the last time we played in Wales on a Friday night and lost to Llanelli two seasons ago.

"In our previous two seasons in the Heineken Cup we let Brian Kennedy, our fans and ourselves down and we are staying fully focused on what we need to do in this season's tournament."