Sale made it a second successive European double for the Zurich Premiership, following Leicester's success in retaining the Heineken Cup by succeeding Harlequins as the Parker Pen Shield holders here in Oxford yesterday.
Sale had already ensured their place in next season's Heineken Cup by finishing second in the league whereas Pontypridd needed to win yesterday to qualify for Europe after finishing outside the top five in the Welsh-Scottish league. But the Premiership side were spurred on by the lure of the first major trophy in their history and ultimately prevailed despite trailing for most of an error-ridden match.
Sale outscored Pontypridd by three tries to one and just about deserved victory, but the final would have gone into extra-time had the Welsh club's full-back Brett Davey, who clinched the Principality Cup against Llanelli eight days previously with a stoppage-time kick, been given a 40-yard penalty shot at goal in the dying minutes.
The Pontypridd captain Paul John opted for a kick to touch in the hope of replicating a try from a driving maul his side had engineered 10 minutes previously, partly because he was unsure about the rules governing extra-time. A successful penalty would have tied the scores at 25-25 and taken the match into another 10 minutes each way because the tries-scored rule kicked in only at the end of extra-time. "I was not sure that the kick was in Brett's range anyway because we were playing into a strong wind," said John.
Sale have been the most enterprising side in the Premiership this season but they owed victory yesterday to an unyielding defence. Pontypridd were stronger in the tight and around the fringes but made little headway with the ball in hand and though they led 15-3 at half-time their points had all come from kicks and it was Sale who had prompted the openings.
Sale's lock Chris Jones was warned for stamping and the prop Kevin Yates was sent to the sin-bin on 30 minutes for driving into the airborne second-row Brent Cockbain at a lineout. "I thought Yates should have been sent off," said Pontypridd's coach Lynn Howells. "What he did was dangerous: Brent landed on his neck and he could have suffered a serious injury. Referees need to clamp down on that."
Pontypridd did not make their one-man advantage count and Yates's absence coincided with Sale's best period of the match. They added width to their game rather than trying to batter through close to the break down and would have scored tries through Mark Cueto and Mel Deane but for unyielding tackling.
But Pontypridd's defence cracked twice in four minutes in the third quarter, the centre Mel Shaw stealing over after a line-out before the wing Steve Hanley was sent away after Pontypridd lost control of a maul on the halfway line.
The essential difference between the sides was Sale's ability to attack from broken play and exploit their pace, even if Jason Robinson had a subdued afternoon. The way Pontypridd regained the lead summed them up: a penalty kick to touch and a driving maul from five yards. They had power up front but lacked a creative edge.
"When we scored our first two tries I thought Pontypridd were dead," said the Sale No8 Pete Anglesea. "Their spirit was fantastic and they never gave up."
Sale clinched victory when the replacement centre Dan Harris took advantage of Charlie Hodgson's shuffle to dummy over from a scrum, but their season is not yet over: they entertain Gloucester in the championship play-off semi-final on Sunday.
Sale: Robinson; Cueto, Shaw, Deane (Harris, 67), Hanley; Hodgson, Redpath (capt); Yates, Marais (Titterrell, 67), Turner, Lines, Jones, Sanderson, Pinkerton, Anglesea.
Tries: Shaw, Hanley, Harris. Cons: Hodgson 2. Pens: Hodgson 2.
Sin-bin: Yates, 30.
Pontypridd: Davey; Wyatt, Parker, Bryant, Johnston; Sweeney, John (capt); Jenkins, Davies (Rees, 80), Bell, Cockbain, Sidoli, Kelly (Remnant, 74), Parks, Owen.
Try: Davies. Con: Davey. Pens: Davey 4. Drop goal: Sweeney.
Referee: A Lewis (Ireland).
Att: 12,000.
