The Blues got off to a great start at a high tempo, spreading the ball wide with backs and forwards combining well and came to within a yard of the Sale try-line before the ref had a chance to blow his whistle.

Deiniol Jones picked up on the blindside of the ruck and slipped the ball to Jason Spice who sprinted over to touch down in the corner despite Charlie Hodgson's last gasp tackle.

The Blues spread ball wide once again to Tom James who chipped ahead for the try-line but the Sale defence covered well.

Sale were then awarded a penalty when it was deemed a Blues player had obstructed a Sale chaser. Former Blues centre Lee Thomas stepped up and kicked the goal. However Robinson soon equalised with a kick of his own.

Tom James once again showed electric pace sprinting down the wing and shaking off the defence, only to be held up once again just short.

It didn't take long for them to get on the score board when they threw the ball out to the right and Gareth Thomas threw a dummy that split the defence to score under the posts. Robinson added the conversion.

The Blues looked rampant, and passes out wide from Nicky Robinson saw, Rush draw his man, before passing out to Shanklin who fed Roberts. The big winger drew his man and passed inside to Thomas who again scored in the corner. Robinson was unlucky with his conversion.

Alfie was instrumental in a brilliant move started in the Blues twenty two. Thomas threw a dummy from the base of a ruck that fooled the Sale defence then spun round and sprinted up field. The ball then made its way through the backs and a superbly timed Jason Spice pass saw Ben Blair come into the line. He was tackled just short of the try-line. However he popped the ball up for Rush to score and Robinson again added the conversion.

HALF TIME Cardiff Blues 27 Sale sharks 3

Sale Sharks started the second half well and were entrenched on the Blues try-line for 10minutes. Despite a yellow card for Molitika the Blues managed to keep them out.

The Blues themselves tried throwing the ball about but seemed to lack penetration. Despite the game being beyond their reach the Sharks continued to attack. A missed tackle in midfield saw Lee Thomas cross for a try under the posts. Thomas converted to bring the score to Cardiff Blues 27 Sale Sharks 10, with Thomas scoring all the visitors points.

Possibly, the best try of the night came from Sale. Deep in their own twenty two they chipped over the top and superb quick hands saw the ball spread to the right. A missed tackle on Rory Lamont saw the Scotsman sprint over in the corner.

However, it was the Blues who got the last word. A superbly weighted Nick Robinson kick landed in the lap of Tom James. A try in the corner was the icing on the cake for a superb evening for the team.

Cardiff Blues 15 Ben Blair 14 Tom James 13 Tom Shanklin (40off/45on52off 66on 75off) 12 Gareth Thomas (66off) 11 Jamie Roberts 10 Nicky Robinson 9 Jason Spice (54off) 8 Xavier Rush (c) 7 Robin Sowden-Taylor 6 Maama Molitka (47yellow card) 5 Paul Tito (65off) 4 Deiniol Jones (71off) 3 Gary Powell 2 T Rhys Thomas (71off) 1 Gethin Jenkins (64off) 16 John Yapp (64on) 17 Gareth Williams (71on) 18 Robert Sidoli (65on) 19 Ben White (71off) 20 Richie Rees (54on) 21 Nick Macleod (40on45ff52on) 22 Rhys Williams (74on)

Sale Sharks 15 Julien Laharrague 14 Rory Lamont 13 Rudi Keil 12 Lee Thomas 11 Oriol Ripol 10 Charlie Hodgson 9 Sililo Martens 8 Nathan Bonner-Evans 7 Magnus Lund 6 Chris Jones 5 Sean Cox 4 Dean Schofield (c) 3 Benoit Bourrust 2 Sebastian Bruno 1 Lionel Faure 16 Neil Brigs 17 Ben Evans 18 Christian Day 19 Michael Hills 20 Richard Wigglesworth 21 Chris Mayor 22 Steve Hanley

Attendance 8742

SCORERS:
CARDIFF BLUES SALE SHARKS

TRIES Jason Spice x 1 Lee Thomas
G Thomas x 2 Rory Lamont
X Rush x 1
T James x 1
PENALTIES N Robinson x 1 Lee Thomas
CONVERSIONS N Robinson x 3 Lee Thomas

FINAL SCORE:

REFEREE
DAVE PEARSON

TOUCH JUDGES
ANDREW SMALL
STEVE TERHEEGE

TMO
GARETH SIMMONDS