Investec Champions Cup: Sale Sharks out after La Rochelle defeat, Bath denied home last-16 tie by Toulouse

La Rochelle knocked Sale Sharks out of the Investec Champions Cup with a ruthless 37-24 victory in the final round of pool games.

It was a winner-take-all clash at the Salford Community Stadium with a place in the last 16 up for grabs, and it was the back-to-back defending champions who proved too good to advance from Pool 4.

The consolation for Sale is a place in the Challenge Cup but the positives might be immediately hard to take for Alex Sanderson and his players given the manner of their fourth defeat in succession.

But for a late flurry, the scoreline would have been far less flattering for the Gallagher Premiership Rugby side, who were down by 30 points before they got on the board in front of their home fans.

It started well for The Sharks until the French Top 14 side struck out of nothing. Robert du Preez’s kick hit off La Rochelle’s Yoan Tangas and Dillyn Leyds was on hand to pounce, gathering his own grubber to open the scoring in the ninth minute.

In blustery conditions, Antoine Hastoy added the extras and slotted three penalties to give the visitors a 16-0 lead at the break.

With the wind, Sale would have been hoping to turn the tide in the second half but immediately fell further behind when Hastoy finished off a lightning breakaway try, and it was 30-0 after 47 minutes when Tawera Kerr-Barlow touched down following another turnover.

Tom Roebuck scored in the corner in the 59th to spark a late recovery but the damage had already been done.

Agustin Creevey’s converted try for Sale was cancelled out by UJ Seuteni’s intercept score before Sam Dugdale and Telusa Veainu secured Sale a meaningless bonus point with the clock in the red.

The result moved La Rochelle into third, meaning they will face an away tie in the last 16, and also sealed Leicester Tigers’ place in the knockouts.

Toulouse continued their home winning streak to overcome a spirited Bath side and secure top spot in Pool 2.

With four wins from four, the five-time champions will be seeded No. 1 in the knockouts, meaning they will have home fixtures until the final should they get there.

Bath needed just one point to line up a home last-16 tie but came up agonisingly short, with Harlequins the beneficiaries.

Not since April 2022 have Toulouse been beaten at the Ernest-Wallon Stadium, but they were made to work hard to keep that run alive.

The hosts got off to the ideal start when Emmanuel Meafou bulldozed over the line for a sixth-minute try.

Three minutes later, Antoine Dupont and Thomas Ramos combined to devastating effect. The scrum-half’s kick downfield after a quick tap was gathered by Ramos, who dotted down in the corner.

The fly-half added the extras to make it 12-0 with just 10 minutes on the clock but Bath quickly responded through Beno Obana and Thomas du Toit.

A penalty try restored the French Top 14 side’s advantage before Ollie Lawrence crashed over the line to make it 19-19 at the break.

Bath began the second half in the ascendancy and probed for a way through but could not make the most of their dominance and were made to pay.

Juan Cruz Mallia touched down in the 68th minute before Ramos got his second to complete a thrilling victory.

Exeter Chiefs will have a home knockout tie despite being well beaten by Bayonne in the final pool game of the competition.

The reward for The Chiefs’ second-placed finish in Pool 3 is a mouth-watering clash against Bath in the last 16, while Bayonne drop to the Challenge Cup after finishing fifth.

Exeter played with 12 men at one stage after two late yellow cards and a red for new Wales captain Dafydd Jenkins, but the damage was done well before that lapse of discipline.

Bayonne, who were yet to register a win ahead of the visit of The Chiefs, went ahead after just 63 seconds when Tom Spring weaved his way to the line.

The visitors drew level through Dan Frost’s converted try before the hosts ran riot to secure a first-half bonus point after further scores from Kote Mikautadze, Aurelien Callandret and Victor Hannoun.

A losing bonus for Exeter would have meant a last-16 meeting with defending champions La Rochelle, and tries from Jenkins and Rus Tuima in quick succession after the break made that a real possibility.

That was until Federico Mori crossed the line twice for Bayonne to seal a comfortable 40-17 win.

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