2019/20 Pool Stage: Sale Sharks 25 Stade Rochelais 15

The first meeting of the sides in Heineken Champions Cup action was a Round Two match-up in Pool 2 of the 2019/20 season at the AJ Bell Stadium.

Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Chris Ashton and a penalty try helped the hosts to a 10-point victory – AJ MacGinty true from the tee with two penalties and two conversions to tally 10 points.

La Rochelle responded with tries from Vincent Rattaz and Jeremy Sinzelle, but were hampered for a large part of the contest as Pierre Bourgarit was given his marching orders for making contact with an opponent's head. Brock James tallied five points with the boot.

2019/20 Pool Stage: Stade Rochelais 30 Sale Sharks 23

Round Five saw the reverse fixture as La Rochelle welcomed Sale to the Stade Marcel-Deflandre.

The hosts secured the bonus point victory with tries from Tevita Railevu, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Geoffrey Doumayrou and Gregory Alldritt. Ihaia West was succesful with four kicks from the tee – two penalties and two conversions.

Sale responded with a pair of tries from Jean-Luc du Preez and Curtis Langdon. AJ MacGinty and James Williams goalled 13 points between them in the seven-point defeat. Despite one victory apiece in the season series, both teams exited the competition at the pool stage.

2020/21 Quarter-final: Stade Rochelais 45 Sale Sharks 21

Both Sale Sharks and Stade Rochelais advanced from Pool A of the 2020/21 Heineken Champions Cup before defeating Scarlets (57-14) and Gloucester Rugby (27-16) respectively in the Round of 16 to set up a quarter-final tie at the Stade Marcel-Deflandre.

The Top 14 side proved too strong in the meeting as they ran in six tries – Raymond Rhule and Geoffrey Doumayrou both notched braces in addition to tries from Dillyn Leyds and Gregory Alldritt. Ihaia West enjoyed his day from the tee with 15 points – three penalties and three conversions.

Sale mustered tries from Sam James and Byron McGuigan – with AJ MacGinty tallying 11 points with the boot. However, they were thoroughly outplayed in the contest against the competition’s eventual runners-up.

The 2023/24 Champions Cup pool stage schedule is out, and two-time defending champions Stade Rochelais face a trip to England to take on Sale Sharks in Round Four on Sunday, January 21, 2024. We take a look back at the most recent meeting between the two sides.