Jason Robinson has joined his club and country team-mate Mark Cueto as an injury concern for England prior to the Six Nations opener against Scotland in a fortnight's time. Robinson, tempted out of international retirement on Brian Ashton's promotion to head coach, has already been ruled out of Sale's Premiership game at Gloucester on Saturday with the neck and shoulder problems that ruled him out here, and although the Sharks director of rugby, Philippe Saint-André, said he will "probably be available" for the Calcutta Cup, England may be reluctant to recall the 32-year-old at Twickenham for what would be his first game in three weeks.
Cueto has already conceded that his chances of playing against Scotland are slim because of complications in his recovery from the calf injury he suffered in training over Christmas. "Even if I was fit for Scotland I would be surprised if I was included," said the Cumbrian wing. There is no guarantee that Cueto will be fit to face Gloucester either, leaving Saint-André to make do with what he admitted is "an average team". The Frenchman had been confident that Sale could follow last year's Premiership triumph with European success. "But when you have three fly-halves injured, nine backs injured, five internationals injured, it's not easy," he muttered.
It was even trickier in Pool Three on Saturday, he argued, "when you play 16 against 15", describing the performance of the experienced Irish referee Alain Rolland as "the least consistent of the season". But the Ospreys always had the classier acts behind the scrum, making it easier to sympathise with their coach Lyn Jones than Saint-André's complaints. "If you lose a game of rugby it's nothing to do with the referee," he said. "That's one thing I've learned over the years. I would never criticise a referee - and we've had some shockers."
Within hours Jones had a hard-luck story of his own, as the Ospreys hung around at Edgeley Park to watch Leicester's win at Munster end their hopes of a first quarter-final place. "We've only lost one game in this competition, so it's a bit of a bummer," he admitted.
Sale had used posters of Gavin Henson to promote the game but he was the visitors' most error-prone and least effective back, with James Hook providing the classiest touches, the overseas veterans Justin Marshall and Stefan Terblanche always a threat, and the centre Andrew Bishop particularly impressive. As so often this season, the Sharks were left to reflect on how different things might have been if so much of their own back-line talent had not been sitting in the stand.
Sale Sharks Larrechea (Bell, 68); Hanley, Mayor, Taylor, Ripol; Wigglesworth, Foden; Faure (Roberts, 38), Bruno (Titterrell, 63), Turner (Stewart, 64), Jones, Schofield (Day, 61), J Fernandez Lobbe, Lund, Chabal (capt; Hills, 78).
Try Fernandez Lobbe. Con Larrechea.
Sin-bin Schofield, 17; Chabal, 31.
Ospreys Terblanche; Walker, Bishop, Henson, S Williams (Shelley, 56); Hook, Marshall; D Jones (capt), B Williams (Bennett, 70), A Jones (James, 71), Cockbain, Wyn Jones, Lloyd (Powell, 52; Spice, 79), Tandy (Pugh, 63), R Jones.
Tries Tandy, Terblanche. Con Hook. Pens Hook, Henson.
Sin-bin Lloyd, 17; Hook, 50.
