Renaud defiant as Montauban stun Sharks

MONTAUBAN captain Marc Renaud has thrown down the gauntlet to Heineken Cup champions Munster ahead of their final round game at Stade de Sapiac next month.

The French outfit, who impressed in their 19-17 defeat at Thomond Park, sensationally defeated Sale Sharks at home on Saturday for their first victory of their debut season in the competition.

Though rooted to the bottom of the pool, and out of the race for the knockout stages, Renaud warned Tony McGahan’s side against expecting a rollover in January. He said: “We are adamant that we do not want to finish bottom of this pool.

“Munster are going to have to work hard to beat us here and I think we have shown that we are competitive in this competition.”

Montauban have struggled off the field due to boardroom problems and Renaud hopes this weekend can help revive club fortunes.

He said: “This was supposed to be our great season. We have qualified for the Heineken Cup, we have a great squad and fantastic coaches but suddenly we have had three presidents this season alone and our coaches are leaving. However, I think tonight we showed what a great group of players we have and, with all that is going on in the background, we were able to come and beat one of the best teams.”

Replacement Petre Mitu struck a 77th-minute penalty to settle the tie, played in horrendous conditions.

Victory for Montauban was reward for scoring the game’s only try, a 30th-minute effort from Fiji wing Vilimoni Delasau, while Sale struggled to find a scoring edge.

Charlie Hodgson kicked four penalties to earn the visitors a losing bonus point from their trip to France, but having started the day at the top of Pool One, the Guinness Premiership club are now two points behind Munster, who they face next.

The game was settled three minutes from time when Sale’s French lock Sebastien Chabal was penalised by Scottish official Peter Allan for not rolling away from a tackle as Montauban surged forward, handing Mitu the winning points.

Sharks director of rugby Philippe Saint-Andre admitted: “This was always going to be a very difficult pool to get out of. We always knew we would probably have to beat Munster and Clermont in the final two rounds of games and this result has not changed anything.”