A rush and a push and the ground we stand on, is ours!

If you based your predictions about Thursday's match on statistics, then you would've thought Sale were in for an easy ride, taking on a team that hadn't won on the road for 35 matches.

That's not how it turned out though, even if the score would suggest otherwise.

Montpellier are a big, bristling side who play an aggressive, in-your-face kind of rugby. They came to front up to the physical challenge that they knew Sale would offer and for 40 edgy minutes they managed to do just that, keeping the lid on things, harrying and pressing and forcing unnecessary turn-overs.

If it hadn't been for a moment of magic from Charlie Hodgson, who's to say it wouldn't have ended differently?

The weather was obviously going to play a significant part in the game. The swirling wind made life very uncomfortable for both back lines.

Sale played into this wind for the first half and Hodgson set his cards out from the off, launching successive bombs high up above stand height which hung in the night air and caused panic among the Hérault backline.

Montpellier responded in kind and McHugh, Sarraméa and Trinh-Duc took every opportunity to belt the ball back at the Sharks, happy in the knowledge that their lineout was functioning much better than the home side's.

Few can ever doubt the effectiveness of Bruno's power game in the loose, but his accuracy at the set piece can be a little hit and miss even when the wind isn't howling.

Although Sale showed promise in the first 30 minutes, the Héraults continually frustrated, forcing countless turnovers at the breakdown.

Our pack was on top from the start, turning possession against the head as early as the third minute. Then again, with the likes of Sheridan, Bruno, the Lobbe brothers, White and Chabal, you'd expect that.

Where we did struggle however, was at the breakdown.

It was almost as if we were trying to force the opportunities, rather than play with a little patience. On numerous occasions we had numbers out wide and clear cut chances to score, but poor execution and basic skill errors cost us.

Handling errors aside though, Montpellier are no slouches. They've shown that on their day they can beat good sides; they had sufficient talent and strength to do for Perpignan and they had a right old go at trying to do the same to Sale.

Julien Picamoles, the young French International, came on early, replacing Fulgence Ouedraogo, and put himself about, causing untold problems for the Sharks on the fringes and at rucks.

For all the territorial dominance, all Sale could muster in the first 25 minutes were two penalties which Charlie despatched with unerring accuracy in spite of the wind.

There seemed to be no way to break through the wall of white shirts.

Montpellier responded with two of their own when Sheridan and Chabal were both pinged for playing the ball while on the floor.

Big men tend to attract the ref's attention. It's probably best to let the smaller, less easily spotted guys do the dirty business at rucks and breakdowns.

Sale eventually found their cutting edge just before the half hour mark when a move orchestrated by Charlie appeared to have resulted in the first try of the night.

Hodgson fed the ball to Cueto who raced down the flank, taking McHugh and Sarraméa with him, before straightening and passing to Elvis. The ball eventually found its way to Foden on the other flank and it seemed he'd managed to dot the ball down.

The Italian referee wasn't convinced though and asked for the TMO's guidance.

Talk about déjà vu. Hadn't we been there before with the try that never was?

Should he have cut back inside like Billy Whizz would probably have done, or should he have passed to Stan instead?

Who knows? The fact is he didn't for whatever reason and no try was given.

On another day the consequences could've been costly. Fortunately as it turned out, on this particular day it didn't matter.

Anyway, give the lad a break. How long has he been a full back?

This was only his eighth start in that role. He may be inexperienced and have things to learn in the new position, like trying not to let the ball bounce but he's been a revelation and has more than likely made the position his own.

The decision rankled the young full back but seemed to lift the team. Sale upped the tempo after that and started to offload the ball quicker and to better effect.

Another penalty came Sale's way in the 38th minute and Hodgson slotted home from wide on the left wing.

From the restart Montpellier squandered possession with a loose pass from Frikkie Welsh which Charlie intercepted.

The cruciate injuries obviously haven't affected his pace. He sprinted clear and interlinked with both Cueto and Corcho before dabbing the ball down by the posts.

It was a scintillating try - deft handling, subtle pop passes and clever interplay. It had Jos Baxendell's signature written all over it.

By the time the whistle blew for the break, the Héraults looked a beaten team. Their heads went down and their shoulders slumped.

They probably felt hard done by and on the basis of their performance they would've been justified.

Sale were the better side and had the lion's share of possession but Montpellier gave as good as they got.

They could've reached half time with the score at 6-6, and probably should have but for a moment of brilliance from Hodgson.

It knocked the stuffing out of them and they never looked likely to bounce back after that. Sale on the other hand took to the field a couple of inches taller with their shoulders back and heads up, and managed to produce one of the best displays of running, incisive and devastating rugby seen at Edgeley Park.

I doubt many teams could've coped. It was impossible to defend against them.

The fact is, no team, however good, can defend against attacks that come from every part of the park and every position. If you don't know where the threat lies, you can't defend against it.

We've shown glimpses this season of what we might be capable of achieving. We've got a very strong squad, a set of forwards as good as any in the Premiership, if not better and a backline that could make even the purists purr - and that's before McAlister arrives.

The problem has been that all the bits have never worked at the same time. What we witnessed on Thursday was 40 minutes of rugby in which the forwards and the backs played as one, like a well-oiled machine and it was devastating.

Some will no doubt say, 'yeah but by that time Montpellier were a beaten team'. That may well be true but you can only play the team in front of you.

Tries by Chabal, Hanley, Mayor and a brace by Wiggy put a fine gloss on the night and brought us the bonus point with style.

Even the ref got into the party spirit, doing the splits after Seabass' try - give him some pom poms and sign him up for Independance.

It's always great to put a team away in style and score for fun, but that wasn't the thing that pleased me most. It was the way we played that lifted my spirits.

Our pack dominated at the set piece. We approached rucks quicker and cleaned them out ruthlessly - no prisoners were taken and good clean ball was presented to Wiggy.

Our first phase ball started to fizz and our backs ran good lines both with and without the ball, pulling the opposition all over the park.

Coxy got to grips with the lineout and it started to function and set quicker and more effectively. Schoey showed he's lost none of his fighting spirit, though perhaps as a captain it's incumbent on him to lead by example rather than with a right hook.

Both Stan and Cuets showed what class acts they can be when taking the ball at speed. In the right circumstances, they're unstoppable.

As for Charlie, well, what can you say that hasn't already been said? When he's not called on to plug the holes at the back as he has been some times this season, then he's one of the finest stand-offs in world rugby, few can live with him.

His open play, distribution and rugby brain are outstanding and his try was sublime. Unfortunately from a Sale perspective I'm sure Brian Ashton already has him pencilled in for the Six Nations.

In spite of that, I still feel the try of the night, to my mind at least, was Steve Hanley's.

Old Stan the man has had a rotten time over the last couple of years, what with injuries and a loss of form.

When he skipped through on to the pop pass from Lee Thomas and realised he was clear, it was enough to make my heart smile. He's been so close to scoring a few times this season but the lucky break has never come his way.

The delight on his face and the little dance before he slid across the line said it all - I'm back, I'm still the Premiership's leading try scorer and I'm not going to let anyone take that off me.

You could tell how much it meant to him and to all the rest of the lads. Let's hope there's many more to come.

So, now it's off to Italy to take on Petrarca. Will there be a match in the light of the Italian Sports Minister's announcement that all sports will be suspended because of the tragic shooting of a fan at a football match?

It's impossible to say. I'm going anyway as it's all booked and paid for.

If we do get to see some rugby, I hope we carry on in the same manner and take the game to the opposition and play with our heads up.

On paper we should win. The statistics are definitely on our side.

Hold on, haven't we been here before? Oh that's right, the lads from the Hérault were going to be a pushover on paper I seem to recall.

I think that if 40 edgy and nervy minutes of rugby teaches you anything, it's that statistics are not to be trusted.