Sale hope for consolation

SALE take on French giants Toulouse today seeking a European consolation prize. Victory for Sale at Edgeley Park will not be enough to reach the Heineken Cup quarter-finals but they could find a route into the second-tier Amlin Challenge Cup as runners-up from Pool 5.

Toulouse, three-time European champions, wrapped up the group last weekend with a bonus point victory over Harlequins, capitalising on Sale's 36-19 loss to Cardiff Blues.

Three teams though, those ranked third, fourth and fifth best runners-up from the Heineken pool stages, will join five group winners in the first Challenge Cup knockout round.

And Sale are determined to be among them by defeating a Toulouse side chasing victory for a probable Heineken home draw in the quarter-finals later this season.

Cardiff could also reach the Challenge Cup, but as they have an inferior try-count to Sale, a bonus point success is the likely requirement from their away clash against Quins today.

Gloucester, meanwhile, need a five-point maximum at Newport Gwent Dragons to have any realistic Challenge Cup qualification hopes from Pool 2.

Biarritz emulated Toulouse by winning their group a week inside the distance, leaving Gloucester to scramble for anything else that might be on offer.

The west country club will be without injured Scotland flanker Alasdair Strokosch.