The anticipation was electric as England World Cup Winner Ben Cohen, MBE, took to the starting blocks to race against Monty - The Beast - a Canadian Wolf.
Ben is a winner. He was not going to let anyone beat him - even if they had four legs and dribbled and panted a lot.
There was no doubt though that Cohen, 31, was nervous!
Sharks Take-off for Toulouse from Manchester Airport
9th October 2009
The Sale Sharks began their Heineken Cup journey at Manchester Airport
this morning flying over to France to tackle three-time winners
Toulouse in their opening match of the 2009/10 European campaign