Philippe Saint-Andre, the Sale Sharks director of rugby, believes that the credibility of the EDF Energy Cup would be enhanced if its early rounds were played in August, avoiding the need for English clubs to field weakened teams after an intensive set of Guinness Premiership matches.

For Sale's third game in nine days on Saturday, Saint-Andre felt compelled to field a drastically understrength side. They produced a spirited performance and were only denied an unlikely victory over a powerful but error-prone Cardiff team when Richard Mustoe scored the Blues' second try with nine minutes remaining.

“With the intensity of the game now, I would never pick the same guys for two games in four days,” Saint-Andre said. “You can do this in football or ping-pong or tennis, but you don't do it in rugby because of the physicality. We have to think of the players' safety. I don't know why we didn't start the competition in the last week of August, when everybody was playing friendly games. That makes more sense than playing three games in nine days.”

Oriol Ripol, the Spain wing, broke his right arm in the final play of the match, weakening Sale's squad for their Heineken Cup game away to Clermont Auvergne on Saturday.

Ripol had helped to create a first-half try for Rudi Keil, but Cardiff, according to David Young, their director of rugby, had “got ourselves out of jail”.

Scorers: Sale Sharks: Try: Keil (16min). Penalty goals: Macleod 4 (3, 35, 44, 56). Cardiff Blues: Tries: Halfpenny (13), Mustoe (80+1). Conversion: Blair. Penalty goals: Blair (31), Sweeney (59).

Scoring sequence (Sale first): 3-0, 3-7, 8-7, 8-10, 11-10 (half-time), 14-10, 17-10, 17-13, 17-18.

Sale Sharks: N Macleod; S Kuadey (rep: N Royle, 52), R Keil, A Tuilagi (rep: J Kennedy, 69), O Ripol; R Wigglesworth, C Leck; L Faure, M Jones (sin-bin, 38-45), M Halsall (rep: R Davies, 74), C Jones (rep: A Shaw, 80), B Cockbain, J White (rep: J Gaskell, 69), D Tait (rep: Davies, 39-45), C Fearns.

Cardiff Blues: B Blair; L Halfpenny (rep: R Mustoe, 51), J Robinson (rep: T Shanklin, 72), J Roberts, G Thomas; C Sweeney (rep: N Robinson, 55), R Rees; J Yapp, R Thomas (rep: G Williams, 80+5), T Filise (rep: G Powell, 56), B Davies (rep: D Jones, 54), P Tito, A Powell (rep: R Sowden-Taylor, 55), M Williams, M Lewis.

Referee: T Hayes (Wales). Attendance: 7,485.