SALE Sharks enjoyed a fabulous weekend in Devon, beating the Exeter Chiefs 55-12 at Sandy Park on April 19.

Director of Rugby Steve Diamond hailed this as the best performance by a Sharks side since he returned to the club in January 2011.

The 55 points tally was the highest number of points the Sharks have ever scored away from home in a Premiership game and the 43 point winning margin was second only to the 45-0 win at Harlequins back in February 2003 when Steve Diamond was head coach.

Steve Diamond paid tribute to all his players and also the fans: "The performance was magnificent and considering we had never won at Exeter, it's all the more pleasing.

Remember Exeter are a good side coached well and have won the LV Cup but on Saturday we did everything right and to score eight tries was excellent.

A lot of our loyal fans made the trip down too on the Bank Holiday weekend and they always give the lads 100 per cent. The lads responded and also went over to thank the fans after the whistle."