Trinh-Duc orchestrates Montpellier triumph.
French outside half Francois Trinh Duc turned on the style in the pouring rain at Stade Yves du Manoir to guide Montpellier to a comfortable win over Sale Sharks.
Two beautiful chip kicks over the Sharks' defensive line conjured up tries for Timoci Nagusa and Julien Tomas and he led the home charge by bagging their first try. But while the No 10 took the plaudits, it was the Montpellier front five that turned the game in their side's favour.
They blitzed the Sharks pack and it was their effort in pushing the visiting pack off their own ball 10 minutes after the break that paved the way for the first try. John Beattie simply picked the ball up at his feet at No 8, break to the openside and gave Trinh Duc a clear run to the line 10 metres away.
The Sharks had opened the scoring with the first try of the game after only four minutes. Tom Brady sped out of his 22 up to half-way and then Danny Cipriani kicked cross-field for England wing Mark Cueto to score his first try of the season.
By half-time the boot of Argentinean wing Martin Bustos Moyano had pushed Montpellier into a 12-8 lead, but that Trinh Duc try sparked the home charge.
His first chip kick allowed Nagusa to show off his power and pace to reach the left corner and then Tomas was given a brilliant inside pass to run the length of the 22 to score at the posts.
The only thing that didn't go right for the home side was they failed to bag a bonus point after scoring three tries in an hour. Instead, the Sharks had the final word with a 74th minute try from replacement back row man Richie Vernon which Rob Miller converted off the right touchline.
