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Sale Sharks vs Bristol Bears · Premiership Rugby

Premiership Rugby · 2026-27Full time
Sale Sharks
24–34
Bristol Bears

Timeline

  1. Kick-off
  2. TryLuke Cowan-Dickie
    6'5–0
    Sale Sharks
  3. ConversionGeorge Ford
    7'7–0
    Sale Sharks
  4. 12'7–5
    TryLouis Rees-Zammit
    Bristol Bears
  5. PenaltyGeorge Ford
    15'10–5
    Sale Sharks
  6. SubstitutionAlex Lozowski on for Rekeiti Ma’asi White
    18'
    Sale Sharks
  7. 23'10–10
    TryLouis Rees-Zammit
    Bristol Bears
  8. 31'10–13
    PenaltyJames Williams
    Bristol Bears
  9. 38'10–18
    TryHarry Randall
    Bristol Bears
  10. 39'10–20
    ConversionJames Williams
    Bristol Bears
  11. Half-time
  12. TryTom O'Flaherty
    42'15–20
    Sale Sharks
  13. ConversionGeorge Ford
    43'17–20
    Sale Sharks
  14. SubstitutionNicky Smith on for Bevan Rodd
    51'
    Sale Sharks
  15. SubstitutionTomas Francis on for Asher Opoku-Fordjour
    51'
    Sale Sharks
  16. SubstitutionElia Canakaivata on for Ben Bamber
    51'
    Sale Sharks
  17. 52'
    SubstitutionSteven Luatua on for Luka Ivanishvili
    Bristol Bears
  18. 56'17–25
    TryHarry Randall
    Bristol Bears
  19. 56'17–27
    ConversionJames Williams
    Bristol Bears
  20. SubstitutionChrist Tshiunza on for Ernst Van Rhyn
    57'
    Sale Sharks
  21. 58'
    SubstitutionMax Pepper on for AJ MacGinty
    Bristol Bears
  22. 61'
    SubstitutionGeorge Taylor on for Pedro Rubiolo
    Bristol Bears
  23. 61'
    SubstitutionJake Woolmore on for Ellis Genge
    Bristol Bears
  24. SubstitutionNathan Jibulu on for Luke Cowan-Dickie
    61'
    Sale Sharks
  25. 66'
    SubstitutionJames Halliwell on for George Kloska
    Bristol Bears
  26. TryTom O'Flaherty
    68'22–27
    Sale Sharks
  27. ConversionGeorge Ford
    69'24–27
    Sale Sharks
  28. 69'
    SubstitutionKieran Marmion on for Harry Randall
    Bristol Bears
  29. 69'
    SubstitutionThomas Gwilliam on for Gabriel Oghre
    Bristol Bears
  30. SubstitutionSam Dugdale on for Jacques Vermeulen
    69'
    Sale Sharks
  31. 72'24–32
    TryThomas Gwilliam
    Bristol Bears
  32. 73'24–34
    ConversionJames Williams
    Bristol Bears
  33. 75'
    SubstitutionBenjamin Grondona on for Joe Owen
    Bristol Bears

Team stats

Sale SharksBristol Bears
52%Possession48%
44%Territory56%
3Tries5
122Carries100
503Metres carried236
10Clean breaks3
32Defenders beaten16
9Offloads3
185Passes117
141Tackles146
16Missed tackles32
83%Tackle success74%
2Turnovers won8
13Penalties conceded7
7/8Scrums won4/4
7/9Lineouts won14/15
15Kicks from hand23

Match report

Bristol Bears opened their Premiership Rugby campaign with a 34-24 victory over Sale Sharks at CorpAcq Stadium in Salford on Saturday. The ten-point margin extends Bristol's recent dominance in this fixture, having now won three of the last five meetings between the sides.

The result sees Bristol Bears sit fourth in the table with four points from their opening match, while Sale Sharks occupy fifth position after suffering defeat in round one. Bristol's win reverses the outcome of their most recent encounter, when Sale prevailed 38-17 at home in June.

Written by AI from the official match data.

Head to head

7
Sale Sharks wins (70%)
0
Draws (0%)
3
Bristol Bears wins (30%)

Last 10 meetings, since April 2023

Biggest Sale Sharks win
38–0
27 Dec 2024
Biggest Bristol Bears win
34–24
26 Sept 2026

Last 5 meetings

  • 26 Sept 2026Sale Sharks24–34Bristol Bears
  • 6 Jun 2026Sale Sharks38–17Bristol Bears
  • 28 Feb 2026Bristol Bears36–41Sale Sharks
  • 2 Jan 2026Bristol Bears19–17Sale Sharks
  • 13 Sept 2025Sale Sharks24–15Bristol Bears

Lineups

Avg. age
28.5
Avg. age
28.3

Sale Sharks

  1. 1Bevan Rodd(26)
  2. 2Luke Cowan-Dickie(33)
  3. 3Asher Opoku-Fordjour(22)
  4. 4Ernst Van Rhyn(29)
  5. 5Ben Bamber(25)
  6. 6Courtney Lawes(37)
  7. 7Tom Curry(28)
  8. 8Jacques Vermeulen(31)
  9. 9Xavier Roe(27)
  10. 10George Ford(33)
  11. 11Arron Reed(27)
  12. 12Rekeiti Ma’asi White(23)
  13. 13Joe Marchant(30)
  14. 14Tom O'Flaherty(32)
  15. 15Joe Carpenter(25)
Replacements
  1. 16Nathan Jibulu(23)
  2. 17Nicky Smith(32)
  3. 18Tomas Francis(34)
  4. 19Christ Tshiunza(24)
  5. 20Sam Dugdale(27)
  6. 21Gus Warr(27)
  7. 22Alex Lozowski(33)
  8. 23Elia Canakaivata(30)

Bristol Bears

  1. 1Ellis Genge(31)
  2. 2Gabriel Oghre(28)
  3. 3George Kloska(32)
  4. 4Pedro Rubiolo(23)
  5. 5Joe Batley(30)
  6. 6Joe Owen(23)
  7. 7Luka Ivanishvili(24)
  8. 8Fitz Harding(31)
  9. 9Harry Randall(28)
  10. 10AJ MacGinty(36)
  11. 11Gabriel Ibitoye(28)
  12. 12James Williams(29)
  13. 13Benhard van Rensburg(29)
  14. 14Louis Rees-Zammit(25)
  15. 15Tom Jordan(28)
Replacements
  1. 16Thomas Gwilliam(20)
  2. 17Jake Woolmore
  3. 18James Halliwell(22)
  4. 19George Taylor(30)
  5. 20Steven Luatua(35)
  6. 21Kieran Marmion(34)
  7. 22Max Pepper(25)
  8. 23Benjamin Grondona(23)