Heineken Champions Cup: Sale Sharks destroy Ulster at AJ Bell, Saracens come back to win vs Edinburgh | Rugby Union News

Round 1: London Irish 27-32 Montpellier, Sharks 39-31 Quins, Clermont 24-14 Stormers, Racing 10-42 Leinster, Gloucester 22-17 Bordeaux, La Rochelle 46-12 Northampton, Bulls 42-36 Lyon, Castres 12-27 Exeter, Sale 39-0 Ulster, Munster 13-18 Toulouse, Saracens 30-26 Edinburgh

Sale Sharks got their Heineken Champions Cup campaign off to a brilliant start, destroying Irish province Ulster 39-0

Sale began their Heineken Champions Cup campaign with an emphatic win over Ulster, while Saracens turned things around to beat Edinburgh.

Sale Sharks 39-0 Ulster

Sale started their Heineken Champions Cup Pool B campaign with an emphatic 39-0 victory over Ulster at the AJ Bell Stadium.

The visitors had to fly over on the morning of the match due to travel issues and struggled to deal with the physicality of their hosts in Salford.

Six different try-scorers crossed for Sale, captain for the day Rob du Preez converting three of them, while their Irish visitors drew a blank on a tough afternoon.

Tom Curry, Dan du Preez, Rob du Preez, Tom Curtis, Byron McGuigan and Arron Reed crossed for scores.

After a tight opening quarter, the hosts soon began to assert their authority on the contest and scored their first try after 23 minutes and never looked back from there.

Both teams have a date with French opposition next week, Sale facing a trip to Toulouse while Ulster return home and welcome La Rochelle to the Kingspan Stadium on Saturday.

Saracens 30-26 Edinburgh

Saracens returned to the top table of European rugby with a hard-fought 30-26 Heineken Champions Cup win over Edinburgh at a freezing StoneX Stadium.

After missing two years of the competition through suspension, the three-time winners produced a rusty performance and it was not until late on that they were able to subdue a spirited Edinburgh.

Elliot Daly, Alex Lewington, Ben Earl and Tom Woolstencroft scored Saracens’ tries, with Owen Farrell adding two conversions and two penalties.

Luan de Bruin and Wes Goosen touched down for Edinburgh, with Emiliano Boffelli converting both tries and kicking four penalties.