he received wisdom in Europe is that success comes only by learning from your failures and there are few better placed to pass judgment than the Sale director of rugby, Alex Sanderson. While on the Saracens coaching staff, Sanderson experienced defeats in the last four, twice, and the final in the space of three years before finding the winning formula with three European titles in the subsequent four seasons. Brad Barritt used to refer to it as “pounding the rock” and in recent years there have been a number of examples of more inexperienced sides displaying considerable title credentials only to lose in the knockout stages. By the same token, it is no surprise that Leinster and Racing 92, who have reached two of the past three finals, are the shortest odds for this season’s crown. Sale, by contrast, are seeking a first semi-final place on Saturday. To do so they must beat La Rochelle, who won many an admirer for their stylish win over Gloucester in the previous round. Sale remain the rank outsiders and by Sanderson’s own admission, they received a “golden ticket” into the quarter-finals, having lost both their pool stage matches and squeezed through to the knockouts as the lowest-ranked side. If they advanced to the last eight under the radar, however, their mightily impressive 57-14 win at the Scarlets has made the rest of the competition sit up and take notice. It was not so much the scoreline as the destructive manner in which they imposed themselves on a side littered with Wales internationals. Unsurprisingly, Sale are unchanged, ensuring a considerable South African influence again with six in the starting XV and a further two on the bench. La Rochelle welcome back Brice Dulin, Geoffrey Doumayrou and Grégory Alldritt and introduce a whole new front row as they too seek a first semi-final place. “This Covid year is different,” says Sanderson. “It is more of a wildcard scenario we are in now. I am hoping it isn’t a case of having to earn those stripes. So I feel traditionally you have to, yes, but I feel this scenario, this season, might give us the opportunity not to go through that due process. “It’s brilliant to be under the radar, but you don’t want that for ever because it is important the lads get some recognition for their efforts. In some ways, it’s how we took Scarlets cold, because they didn’t really see us coming. They didn’t give us the respect these boys deserved.” Since Sanderson arrived at Sale in January, the Sharks have been upwardly mobile with seven wins from 10 matches. The 41-year-old is a popular coach with a reputation for getting the best out of players but while his experiences with Saracens are evidently proving useful this week, he cites the Springbok influence after South Africa’s World Cup win as equally important. “That is what I am trying to do with my own personal experience of the Champions Cup,” he says. “But we have got World Cup winners in there, we have got rugby leaguers in the coaching staff who have won every cup in that as well. So we have people who have been in big games and understand what it takes.” Meanwhile, Sanderson’s old club, Saracens, have called on the cavalry for Sunday’s Championship match against Bedford, with five of their England internationals selected. Mako and Billy Vunipola, Maro Itoje and Elliot Daly join Jamie George in the side but Owen Farrell, announced as club captain this week, misses the game with a slight strain. Saracens did not plan to involve their England stars so early in their Championship campaign but their opening loss to Cornish Pirates has left them with little margin for error. They begin the weekend with a game in hand but 10 points behind the leaders, Ealing Trailfinders, who face Cornish Pirates away on Saturday.