Ulster’s opening Heineken Cup match saw the Belfast Province embarrassed by Sale Sharks as they fell to a limp 39-0 thrashing.

Having succumbed to Leinster last week, Ulster would have been hoping to emulate their first half performance.

However, from the get-go they were outplayed and outthought.

With fifteen minutes elapsed, England international Tom Curry dotted down the first try after fly half Rob Du Preez had split open the Ulster defence.

Another Du Preez, number 8 Dan, added a second try moments later with Akker van der Merwe unfortunate to see his own score disallowed for a double movement in-between.

The visitor’s ill-discipline was costing them dearly and Duane Vermeulen duly saw yellow before the break where it was just 15-0, after a Du Preez penalty.

Any faint hopes Ulster had of mounting a fightback were extinguished early in the second half when the host’s number 10 got a lucky ricochet off his kick but was in the right place at the right time to dot it down and convert his own score.

Despite losing Manu Tualagi, Sale posed all the attacking questions against a disappointingly disjointed Ulster.

They earned the bonus point their performance merited when Tualagi’s replacement, Tom Curtis finished off another sweeping move.

With Dan McFarland’s men increasingly desperate to get on the board, they botched a lineout in their own 22, the error ruthlessly pounced upon by another Sale substitute, Bryon McGuigan.

Du Preez converted both bringing his points haul up to fourteen for the day.

And just as Ulster thought it couldn’t get any worse, winger Arron Reed exchanged passes with Joe Carpenter and sped away over the line. Sale’s sixth try widening an already emphatic margin of victory.

La Rochelle must be licking their lips at the prospect of this Ulster side on Saturday night where the Kingspan crowd will demand a reaction to two damaging weekends’.