John Mitchell: Toulon were 'exceptional'

Toulon ran in nine tries in their Stade Felix Mayol demolition job to humiliate the Sharks 62-0 on Sunday.

Sale have now lost 12 of their 15 games this season and sit last but one in Pool Six, with a trip to Cardiff Arms Park still to come.

Director of rugby Mitchell said: "The team is disappointed, as well as individuals with their own performances.

"I've been looking at this group of players ahead of the Christmas period and I certainly know a lot more about some individuals after that performance.

"Some of the characters have been revealed and I don't have a lot of choice in some positions.

"But we don't have any regrets - we got what we deserved. Toulon were exceptional.

"All the defensive work we did in the first half took its toll. We were there for 35 minutes but we gave them two soft tries through the same channel and unfortunately against a side like Toulon you can't afford to do that.

"We were coming here looking to build on the previous performance at home, but that wasn't achieved and we are very disappointed."

Toulon were imperious in their performance with Jean-Charles Orioli, Frederic Michalak, Rudi Wulf, David Smith, Joe van Niekerk, Davit Kubriashvili and the Armitage brothers, Steffon and Delon, all touching down for tries.

The big-spending French giants already have one foot in the quarter-finals, with a five-point buffer over Montpellier at the top of their group.

Toulon director of rugby Bernard Laporte said: "I enjoyed the game a lot and we should give credit when credit is due. I must congratulate the players, for their individual performances and team effort.

"There was a lot of spirit and enthusiasm and we showed the will to move the ball around, and not give it away.

"It was difficult for the first 30 minutes and they give us problems at the breakdown. But as half-time was getting close they were tiring.

"All the hard work we put in in the first half paid off in the second. There was a lot more space and we were able to score more tries.

"Our aim is to secure a home quarter-final. We've had two good wins in Cardiff and Sale and we needed to validate that, which meant getting a bonus-point win."

Laporte is already keeping a close eye on the other pools and he was hugely impressed by Clermont Auvergne's victory over reigning champions Leinster.

He added: "We obviously keep an eye on the other teams, because we will eventually have to meet them. I was amazed by what Clermont did in Leinster, they were immense."