They are box office, of course. The team anyone would pay good money to watch. A collection of youngsters from Manchester were given the best seats in the house, as their magisterial hosts ran rings round them. This is Sale’s record defeat. This is Toulouse avenging their defeat to Saracens last week. Far older and uglier players than Sale could call on would have suffered similarly.
Both teams thus qualify for the last 16. Toulouse leapfrog their visitors into second place, for now, which means a home tie. They will be cheering on Glasgow, who host Saracens in the last match of the pool stages on Sunday.
