Sale Sharks' miserable Heineken Cup season ended with a whimper on a beautiful day at Bourgoin's Stade Pierre Rajon.

With Bourgoin still in contention for a Cup quarter-final berth, and Sharks playing only for pride, the result was a foregone conclusion, but visiting coach Jim Mallinder will be furious at the manner of defeat.

Home fly-half Alexandre Peclier kicked 18 points - including two first-half dropped goals - while full-back Anthony Forest picked up a brace of well-taken tries.

Bourgoin were on the scoreboard within three minutes. They were awarded a penalty goal which Peclier could have slotted blindfolded, but went for the big money.

The hosts kicked for touch and drove over the line from the lineout, with hooker Noel Curnier emerging with the ball to claim the five-pointer.

Peclier and Sale's Charlie Hodgson swapped dropped goals before a 10-minute burst of scoring ended the match as a contest.

Bourgoin backrower Sebastien Chabal swooped on the loose ball inside his own half and slipped it to full-back Anthony Forest, who stepped past two Sharks defenders and found himself in open territory. Forest scampered 50 metres untouched for a try which had the crowd on their feet and Sharks players pointing fingers at each other.

Peclier's conversion was followed by a second drop goal, a penalty goal and the conversion to Forest's second try on the half-hour mark.

In 10 minutes, Bourgoin had taken the score from 8-3 to a match-winning 28-3. Peclier added three more in the final minute of the half and Sale's heaviest defeat in Europe - the 35-point loss to Agen in the 2000-01 season - was in mortal danger.

That fact - perhaps more than any other - inspired the Sharks to least compete in the second half. Veteran Samoan Apollo Perelini even managed a try, but that was quickly cancelled by fellow backrower Julien Bonnaire's effort.

Forest's older brother, scrum-half Mickael, scored in the 69th minute before replacement Richard Wilks ended Sale's Cup on a high with a try in the last minute.