Christophe Dominici - a two-try hero of Stade Français Paris' 27-16 victory over Sale Sharks in front a jubilant 44,110-strong Parc des Princes crowd - is warning the Pool leaders they still have plenty of work to do to reach the quarter-finals in the New Year...
The Paris club, along with defending Heineken Cup champions Munster, Biarritz Olympique and Llanelli Scarlets, are the four clubs who have made it three from three at the halfway stage of the Pool matches. But the Test winger is adamant the group is still wide open, declaring: "We have only won the first round.
"Sale showed us that, even without a number of key players, they are a very solid side. "And next week could be totally different - especially if they win and take the bonus point. This is an extraordinarily tough Pool and the Ospreys could also top the Pool.
"We will have to be very aware of the danger Sale will pose on their own ground because you cannot afford to make a single mistake in the Heineken Cup.
We have two very difficult matches to play away from home, at Sale on Sunday and then at the Ospreys next month, and everyone knows just how hard it is to win on the road in this competition."
Reigning English champions Sale find themselves eight points adrift of the Parisian club with their French No 8 Sebastien Chabal accepting their destiny now rests with others.
"We made too many little mistakes and their flying wings punished," he said. "We know we have got it all to do now and it looks like what the Opsreys did to us at the Liberty Stadium caused the damage.
"We simply cannot afford to make any more mistakes and we will have to play at our very phsyical best at home. That said, I think Stade are the big team in this Pool. Their defence is much stronger than that of the Ospreys - we certainly saw that in Paris.
"But even if we are almost out of the race for qualification, Stade haven't qualified yet because they still have to come to us and then go to the Ospreys."
