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Fly-half Antoine Hastoy scored 20 points as holders La Rochelle beat Sale Sharks at the AJ Bell Stadium to reach the Investec Champions Cup last 16.

Dillyn Leyds opened the scoring, Tawera Kerr-Barlow got the third try and UJ Seuteni sealed the bonus point.

Tom Roebuck, Agustin Creevy, Sam Dugdale and Telusa Veainu scored second-half consolations as Sale dropped down into the Challenge Cup.

Wing Roebuck, who has been called up to England’s Six Nations squad, could have scored a hat-trick but lost the ball close to the line and edged a foot into touch with earlier opportunities.

The Premiership side were thumped by the Stormers in South Africa last week and had to recover quickly for the visit of La Rochelle.

Victory for Sale would have been enough to qualify and they were denied an early try when Levani Botia used all of his nous to make a grasping tackle while deflecting a pass backwards, adjudged not to have been a deliberate knock-down.

Moments later, Leyds gathered a hack through by the visitors to run clear and score the opening try.

In blustery conditions as Storm Isha warned of its approach into Greater Manchester, Hastoy’s accurate boot kept Sale at bay and pointless at the break.

His hands did the damage after the interval as he started an attack deep inside his own 22 before Seuteni made an incisive break and fed it back to Hastoy – capped by France but not in this year’s Six Nations squad – on the inside for the second.

Kerr-Barlow’s third quickly followed as the charging Quentin Lespiaucq was hauled down short of the line before the scrum-half reacted quickly and took it off the hooker to cross.

Roebuck and Arron Reed both had tries ruled out for a foot in touch as Sale continued to show their endeavour, before the former did eventually open his account after some neat passing in the backs.

Creevy powered over from close range to add another but Seuteni timed his run to intercept a loose Sale pass and claim the bonus point.

Two more tries were to follow as Dugdale smashed his way to the line from the base of the scrum and replacement Veainu had too much pace for the covering La Rochelle defence.

At that late point though the game was gone and the holders are safely into the next round as they continue their pursuit to match Toulon’s feat of three successive titles.

Sale and England fly-half George Ford said: “They are a great team, a big and physical team and the conditions were a massive part of today. We were playing into the wind in the first half and behind it in second.

“The way we started the second half was the biggest disappointment but it was great execution by them. We always knew we would score a few points.

“The plan was to keep the ball in play and play fast and hopefully get our points at the end, which did happen, but we were just too far behind.”

Line-ups

Sale: James; Roebuck, R du Preez, Bedlow, Reed; Ford, Warr; Onasanya, Cowan-Dickie, Schonert, Bamber, Hill, Dugdale, Curry (capt), Beaumont.  

Replacements: Creevy, Opoku-Fordjour, Harper, Ellis, D du Preez, Thomas, Ma’asi-White, Veainu.

La Rochelle: Dulin; Thomas, Seuteni, Tanga, Leyds; Hastoy, Kerr-Barlow; Wardi, Lespiaucq, Atonio, Dillane, Skelton, Boudehent, Botia, Alldritt (capt).

Replacements: Latu, Sclavi, Kuntelia, Lavault, Cancoriet, Berjon, Reus, Nowell.