SALE SHARKS' Heineken Cup debut ended in defeat at a rain soaked Heywood Road last week against French side Bourgoin.

The Parker Pen Shield winners started the match in superb style unlocking the Bourgoin defence as early as the eleventh minute, when Jason Robinson went over for his first try of the season.

Nick Walshe, starting at fly-half for the injured Charlie Hodgson, duly converted the try and also added a penalty six minutes later to give the Sharks a 10 - 0 lead.

The French, usually poor travellers to this side of the Channel, slowly started to impose themselves on the game through the weight and strength of their huge pack. A Peclier penalty closely followed by a penalty try when the Sharks were penalised for collapsing a scrum in front of the posts levelled the match.

The Sharks responded almost immediately and with the French pinned in their own 22, Robinson released winger Steve Hanley to score another of his trademark tries in the corner to give them a 15 - 10 lead going into the interval.

The second half started badly for the Sharks when Bourgoin were awarded a second controversial penalty try when Robinson was adjudged by Welsh referee Nigel Williams to have held back prop William Bonet. To make matters worse, Robinson, was also sin-binned for his offence - the first time in his professional rugby career.

With the Sharks down to 14 men, they continued to pressure the Bourgoin defence, regaining the lead midway through the second half when Walshe kicked a penalty. Vaughan Going replaced Robinson who had picked up a knock in the first half when he was late tackled by Chabal.

Again the French came back with winger Caillet crossing for a try which Peclier converted to put them 24 - 18 ahead going into the final quarter of the match.

With several injuries to the Bourgoin front row, the last quarter of the match was played, somewhat controversially, with uncontested scrums.

The Sharks threw everything at Bourgoin, flinging the ball wide at every opportunity despite the torrential rain but even with Bonet in the sin bin they could not manage that vital converted try.

After the match, Sale coach Jim Mallinder stated that he was contemplating making an official complaint to the match commissioner over the validity of the injuries to the Bourgoin props.

He said, "We're not going to whinge about the result. The match was always going to be decided by a couple of very close calls, but when you need a converted try to win the game it limits your options when you can't scrum five metres out."

Sharks: Robinson (sin-bin, 49min; rep: Going, 59); Cueto, Baxendell (rep: Harris, 40), Deane, Hanley; Walshe, Redpath; Thorp (rep: Yates, 57), Titterrell (rep: Marais, 57), Stewart (rep: Turner, 68), Jones, Schofield (rep: Perelini, 64), Sanderson, Pinkerton, Anglesea.