SALE'S hopes of qualifying from the Heineken Cup group of death may not be terminal but they are back on the critical list.

A weekend to forget in south-western France saw the Sharks slip to a bitterly disappointing defeat as well as providing the widely-expected confirmation that iconic French forward Sebastien Chabal will be returning home at the end of the season.

In the wake of Sale's second defeat in Pool A, director of rugby Philippe Saint-Andre was quick to point out that the result hadn't changed anything in terms of Sale's hopes of making the quarter-finals.

In a way, he is right. Regardless of whether they had won or not, the Sharks would still have needed to scale rugby's equivalent of Mount Everest next month and breach Munster's Thomond Park fortress to harbour any hope of making the last eight - but now the reigning champions lead Sale by two crucial points.

And even if Saint-Andre's men perform Mission Improbable in Limerick, they may still need a bonus point win over Clermont at Edgeley Park in their final group outing to be fully sure of topping this tightest of tables.

"This was always going to be a very difficult pool to get out of," admitted Saint-Andre.

"We always knew we would probably have to beat Munster and Clermont in the final two rounds of games and this has not changed anything.

"We are disappointed with the result but the conditions were extremely difficult with the wind and rain.

"I must congratulate Montauban. They defended extremely well and they took their opportunities when they got them.

"However, they had the bounce of the ball for their try that came from a loose ball on the ground."

Sale can take inspiration from Premiership rivals Leicester's feat almost two years ago.

Tigers remain the only club to have beaten current European champions Munster in Limerick, toppling the Irish giants 13-6.

Whilst Charlie Hodgson's four penalties were not enough against a Montauban side thumped 36-6 at Edgeley Park eight days earlier, Munster needed late tries from Niall Ronan and David Wallace to subdue Clermont 23-13.

"That is probably the closest we've come to going out," said Munster captain Paul O'Connell, who was sin-binned following an incident that saw Clermont's Canadian international forward Jamie Cudmore sent off.

Chabal, meanwhile confirmed that he will be leaving Edgeley Park this summer a year before his contract is due to expire and hinted he could team up the with the departing Saint-Andre for the third time in his career.

Saint-Andre brought Chabal over to England from Bourgoin in 2004 where he had been coach before joining Sale.

"I'm going to return to France - that's certain," said Chabal. "I have a few possibilities but nothing definitive. I have not signed for any club.

"I'm also waiting to see what Philippe does as he is also heading back to France."