Sale rocked by player penalty

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The Sharks had failed to re-register David Ward following the hooker's loan spell at Manchester before including him on the bench for the Premiership game against Harlequins on March 22.

Sale, currently fifth in the table and now five points behind London Irish, need a bonus point victory at home to Northampton next weekend to stand any chance of qualifying for the play-offs.

The club was also fined £5,000 by a joint Rugby Football Union and Premier Rugby disciplinary panel.

Ward's introduction in place of a prop with eight minutes remaining and Sale trailing 31-15 to Harlequins resulted in the match finishing with uncontested scrums.

Sale lost the game 38-20.

Sale chief executive James Jennings argued to the panel that an immediate points deduction would not be appropriate because "no rugby advantage was sought or gained".

He added that any points deduction should be suspended because of the impact it could have on Sale's play-off chances.

In a statement released on Monday, Jennings said: "The club are very disappointed that an administration failure has resulted in this sanction.

"The club, having just received the full details of the decision off the RFU panel will now study this in detail in order to consider what further actions, if any, it may take in regards to this matter.