Finn Russell’s stunner for Racing 92 knocks Sale out of Champions Cup

And then there were none. Racing 92’s rock stars may have turned up fashionably late to the party but ultimately they sprinkled more than enough stardust to sink Sale Sharks and ensure there will be no Premiership sides in the Champions Cup semi-finals for the second season running.

Finn Russell’s inspired piece of improvisation – twice kicking the ball to the line before dotting down – came soon after a similarly stunning piece of skill from Teddy Thomas and swung the tie in Racing’s favour. They were the standout moments from a side who have yet to utterly convince that this will be their year but who possess an ability to strike that Sale can only dream of. It helps, too, to have a 19-year-old scrum-half who possesses as much class as Nolann Le Garrec.

With the Premiership’s salary cap coming down, clubs have had to cut their cloth accordingly and the gulf between English sides and the continental European elite is likely to get wider. Like Leicester on Saturday, Sale cannot be faulted for their efforts but while the Premiership produced four of the five winners of this tournament before this lean spell began, it is hard to predict when their next success will come.

For, once Racing had their dander up, Juan Imhoff and Max Spring added scintillating finishes to underline the superior scoring ability at their disposal. Compounding matters for the visitors, Tom Curry, making his first start since suffering a hamstring injury during the Six Nations, limped off after 55 minutes with an ankle problem.

Sale, as you’d expect, left everything on the pitch. They defended with a resilience, particularly in a first half, that made you wonder whether they might just claim a first win in the competition on French soil in 11