Match Centre: Sale Sharks 39-0 Ulster

Sale Sharks 39-0 Ulster Rugby, AJ Bell Stadium

Sale Sharks ran a six-try riot as they trounced Ulster Rugby 39-0 in their Heineken Champions Cup opener at AJ Bell Stadium on Sunday.

Sale made a brisk start to the game as Tom Curry touched down after collecting an offload from from fly-half Robert du Preez, who missed out on the conversion.

The home side extended their lead further after Akker van der Merwe was denied a score following a TMO review but Dan du Preez dotted down after good work from scrum half Fergus Warr. Rob kicked the conversion and also followed with a penalty goal to extend their lead to 15-0.

The 30th minute saw Ulster reduced to 14 players temporarily with Duane Vermeulen sin-binned for an offence close to his own line.

Rob helped Sale extend their lead as his attempted offload landed back in his hands after deflecting off a defender but he missed out on the conversion as the lead remained at 20-0.

The start of the final quarter saw replacement back Tom Curtis dive over the line and Rob was once again spot on with the conversion. With hardly any response from the Irish province, Sale added two more tries in the final 10 minutes with Byron McGuigan scoring after capitalising on a loose line out from the visitors and Arron Reed followed the suit to ensure they completed a convincing 39-0 win.

Team line up:

Sale Sharks: Carpenter; Reed, James, Tuilagi, O'Flaherty; R Du Preez (capt), Warr; Rodd, van der Merwe, Schonert; Wiese, Hill; L Du Preez, Curry, D Du Preez.

Reserves: Taylor, McIntyre, Jones, Beaumont, Ross, Simpson, Curtis, McGuigan.

Ulster: Lowry; McIlroy Hume, McCloskey Stockdale; Burns, Doak; Warwick, Herring, O'Toole; O'Connor (capt), Treadwell; Matty Rea, Timoney, Vermeulen.

Reserves: Stewart, O'Sullivan, Moore, Carter, Marcus Rea, Shanahan, Moore, Moxham.