THIS victory gave Steve Diamond's men an excellent chance of advancing to the quarter finals of the Amlin Challenge Cup.

Tries from Dwayne Peel, Jonathan Mills and Sam Tuitupou gave the hosts a commanding win over their struggling opponents, and increases their lead at the top of the group to five points.

Dwayne Peel may have agreed to leave the Sharks at the end of the season, but his desire to play for the club till the summer was in evidence for the first try. Taking the ball from the back of a ruck, the former Welsh international spotted a gap on the blindside and raced through with ease to give Sale an 8-0 lead.

By the half hour mark, another Cipriani penalty had put the hosts in a fairly comfortable position, but their indiscipline gifted Paul Warwick the chance to put his side's first points on the board, which he did.

Despite being in control on the pitch and on the scoreboard, there was a sense from the players and coaching staff that there would need to be an improvement in the second half if the elusive bonus point was to be secured. Sale headed down the tunnel with an 11-3 lead.

That improvement was almost instant. After Sam Tuitupou's break, the Sharks recycled quickly, with Jonathan Mills crashing over as Sale started the half with a bang.

Even with Cipriani replaced, Sale still had players who could create scores out of nothing. Tuitupou got the third try of the night, giving the Sharks just under 20 minutes to find a crucial bonus point.

A serious injury to Paul Warwick'shalted the game for several minutes, as the Warriors' number 10 was stretchered off to a supportive ovation from all supporters inside the stadium.

Sharks fell agonisingly short of a fourth try which would have given them a huge boost.

Having not advanced to the knockout stages of the tournament since 2008, Sale stand on the brink of a quarter final spot.