SALE Sharks bowed out of the Heineken Cup with their heads held high after pushing Ospreys all the way in their final Group Three game.

The vastly-depleted Edgeley Park side fought back from a nightmare start to dominate the game, but failed to convert their many opportunities and ultimately paid the price.

Robbed of so many key players, Sharks produced a brave display against the Welsh side which boasted 13 internationals in the starting line-up plus another four on the bench.

In stark contrast, Sharks were missing eight international stars through injury, and out of the 38 players registered to play in the competition, only 26 were available for selection.

Director of rugby Philippe Saint-Andre said: "I am very disappointed but also very proud of all my players.

"We got off to a very bad start but I thought we came back well and created seven or eight try scoring chances.

"We kept the ball well but just couldn't find the finishing touch.

"Before the start of the season I was very confident that Sale could do well in this competition but the injury situation has made this hard for us.

"We must now focus on the Premiership and the EDF Energy Cup."

Important

Before the kick-off both sides were aware of the need to win and score tries for the all important bonus point so an open, flowing game was always on the cards.

Sharks got off to a bad start when Ospreys moved the ball wide quickly for back row forward Steve Tandy to crash over.

Things got worse when a loose pass from Stuart Turner was picked up by Ospreys full-back Stefan Terblanche who then raced clear under the posts for James Hook to convert.

Hook then added a penalty to extend his side's lead to 15 points and Sale's frustration started to show.

Second row Dean Schofield was sin-binned for fighting along with Andrew Lloyd and Sebastien Chabal was given a talking to by Alain Rowland.

But Sale managed to gather themselves and started to put Ospreys under increasing pressure with stand-off Richard Wigglesworth almost creating a try-scoring chance for Chris Mayor with a clever dummy.

Sale's injury woes were compounded when Lionel Faure, just back from injury after breaking his leg, was forced off with an ankle injury, and then Sale were again reduced to 14 men when Chabal was controversially sin-binned for stamping on Tandy, who was clearly killing the ball right under the nose of referee Rowland, who did little to endear himself to the Sale crowd.

But still Sale battled on with scrum-half Ben Foden having a try disallowed for obstruction after a powerful run down the wing and Ospreys were unable to gain any advantage from having the extra man.

After the break, Sale dominated for long periods and finally got their reward when Ospreys stand-off Hook was sin-binned and from a sublime penalty move Argentinian back row ace Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe ghosted through unchallenged for Daniel Larrechea to convert and reduce the gap to eight points.

With Hook off the field, celebrity centre Gavin Henson made his only really useful contribution to the game with a penalty to extend his side's lead, but Sale were far from finished.

Mayor came close when he chased a chip through from Wigglesworth and Oriol Ripol might have done better had he been able to keep his footing in the heavy conditions.

Sale pushed for the next score, but it never came, and they said farewell to this prestigious European competition.

And with Leicester claiming a famous victory over Munster, Ospreys also saw their faint hopes dashed for another year.

What is your verdict on the game? Have your say.