Sale Sharks will face Montauban in the Heineken Cup tomorrow amid increasing uncertainty over the futures of their two highest-profile recruits from France, Philippe Saint-Andre, the director of rugby, and Sébastien Chabal, the talismanic No8. In recent months, Chabal has suggested that, after his fifth season at Sale, he may have to return to France for family reasons and Sale appear to be resigned to his departure at the end of the season.

“We're at the stage where we're thinking that he'll go,” Kingsley Jones, the head coach, said. “There's no big pressure on him to change his mind because his reasons are personal. For the time being, he's focusing on his rugby and his performances have been excellent. He was outstanding against Leicester last week and I'd expect another big game from him this weekend.”

Saint-Andre, meanwhile, has had talks with Mourad Boudjellal, the millionaire owner of Toulon, who has identified him as a potential successor to Tana Umaga, the present head coach. Like Chabal, he is contracted to Sale until 2010 and although there is a clause in his contract allowing him to leave to coach the France national side, no such opt-out exists for a club team. But Toulon are eleventh in the Top 14 and Boudjellal, who has spent millions on signings such as Jerry Collins and George Gregan, has stated that Umaga will not retain his post if the club are relegated this season.

Sale are hoping that Mathew Tait will be fit to play at home to Montauban tomorrow as the England back continues to be troubled by a hamstring injury. Tait has also been recovering from a dead leg sustained against Leicester last Friday.

Northumbria University completed the purchase of Kingston Park, home to Newcastle Falcons, yesterday after buying the ground from Northern Rock for a sum thought to be about £8million. Dave Thompson, the Newcastle chairman, sold the ground to Northern Rock last year before the bank's troubles and nationalisation. The Falcons' tenure will be unaffected. The university has a sports ground adjacent to Kingston Park and now that it owns a 23-acre site including the stadium and surrounding land, it intends to develop a rugby-based centre of sporting excellence.

Falcons supporters will hope that an unsettling period has come to an end. Thompson announced last week that he had reversed plans to sell the club after failing to agree a deal with potential buyers. “This should give the club's investors and supporters some confidence in the future of the club,” Andrew Wathey, the university's vicechancellor and chief executive, said.

Michael Lipman, the England flanker, has escaped further punishment after he was cited for alleged stamping in the game against New Zealand last Saturday. Lipman will be free to play in Bath's Heineken Cup game at home to Glasgow on Sunday.