Infamous Springbok skipper Corne Krige managed to stay out of trouble as the Stormers clinched an uninspiring injury-time victory over Sale, although two of his team-mates could not escape stints in the sin-bin.

Krige gained notoriety following his brutal assault on several England players during South Africa's 50-point drubbing at Twickenham last November, an episode which saw him fined and warned by the South African Rugby Union.

But tonight he gave a timely reminder of what a fine player he can be, producing a disciplined performance that married his physical strength with some deft handling.

The same could not be said for Stormers forwards Daan Human and Rob Lind though - both were shown first-half yellow cards by referee Wayne Barnes, the latter for a flurry of punches which could not go unpunished.

Poor discipline put the tourists under pressure throughout the match but their overall performance against a virtually second-string Sale side will give Stormers coach Gert Smal greatest cause for concern.

The Super 12 season is less than three weeks away and with just one more warm-up match to go, the South African provincial outfit must desperately find some form.

Sale were without international stars Charlie Hodgson, Jason Robinson and Bryan Redpath and were also missing a clutch of first-team regulars, but they ran the Stormers ragged for large periods of an entertaining clash.

They dominated early on but it was the tourists who went ahead in the 17th minute after some quickfire rucking saw the ball released to centre Piet van Zyl who crossed in the corner.

Human's sin-binning in the 32nd minute saw the Sharks wrestle back the initiative and they used the extra man to good effect with fly-half Jos Baxendell taking advantage of a stretched defence to ghost through under the posts.

Richard Wigglesworth added the conversion to give Sale a lead they did not relinquish until the 81st minute when Stormers substitute Eddie Andrews bundled over after some sustained pressure from his pack.

Gaffie du Toit added the conversion and, to the derision of the 2,783 crowd at Heywood Road, a last-gasp penalty to give the Stormers a victory they scarcely deserved.