Bears rally to sink Sale

WRAP: A late converted try from Kalaveti Ravouvou proved just enough for Bristol to maintain their winning run with a 19-17 victory as Sale lost on the road in the Prem for a sixth consecutive game.

There was little between the teams, who fought a titanic battle, but Bristol just shaded the contest by scoring three tries to two.

Joe Owen and Matias Moroni were also on Bristol’s try-scoring sheet with Tom Jordan and James Williams each kicking a conversion.

Tom O’Flaherty and Ernest van Rhyn touched down for Sale, with George Ford converting both and adding a penalty.

Sale suffered an early injury blow when they lost Alex Wills to a failed HIA after the wing was on the receiving end of a high challenge from Bears number eight Viliame Mata. Gus Warr replaced him at scrumhalf berth with Raffi Quirke playing on the wing.

Bristol had the better of the early exchanges, but with their first attack, the Sharks took the lead when a succession of forward drives on halfway created space for O’Flaherty. The wing took his opportunity in fine style, racing 35 metres along the right flank to outpace Ravouvou and score.

Ford nailed the touchline conversion, and Sale had a 7-0 lead at the end of a feisty and competitive first quarter.

Ravouvou looked to have gained his revenge on O’Flaherty when he brushed the Sale man aside on a surging run deep into the opposition 2,2 but Bears conceded a breakdown penalty to prevent them capitalising.

The home side then lost two players in quick succession, with first prop Lovejoy Chawatama hobbling off before Louis Rees-Zammit departed to a failed HIA.

Ford had a chance to extend Sharks’ lead but made a complete hash of a drop-goal attempt so Bristol had their chance to draw level at the interval when Owen finished off a forward onslaught to force his way over for the last action of the half.

Four minutes after the restart, Sale regained the lead when an impressive line-out drive set up the platform for Van Rhyn to secure the touchdown.

Ford converted before kicking a straightforward penalty, but Bristol responded with the best try of the game when skilful passing saw Moroni fly over in the corner.

Sale lost the lively Quirke to a leg injury, and they suffered a further setback when Rekeiti Ma’asi-White was sin-binned for a deliberate offside as the visitors sought to repel another strong run from Moroni.

Bristol made it count by scoring another splendid try as Williams’ break put the defence on the back foot to set up the chance for Ravouvou, with the conversion from Williams seeing Bears home.

*Newcastle held off a spirited comeback from fellow strugglers Gloucester to earn their first Gallagher Prem win of the season with a 25-19 victory at Kingston Park.

The Cherry and Whites threatened a late comeback with tries from Mikey Austin and Ciaran Knight, but Newcastle held on to clinch their first Prem win from nine outings.

Bristol Bears 19-17 Sale Sharks

The scorers:

For Bristol:
Tries: Owen, Moroni, Ravouvou
Cons: Jordan, Williams

For Sale:
Tries: O’Flaherty, van Rhyn
Cons: Ford 2
Pens: Ford

Teams:

Bristol Bears: 15 Louis Rees-Zammit, 14 Aidan Boshoff, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 James Williams, 11 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 Harry Randall; 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Fitz Harding (captain), 6 Santiago Grondona, 5 Joe Owen, 4 Pedro Rubiolo, 3 Lovejoy Chawatama, 2 Gabriel Oghre, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Max Lahiff, 18 George Kloska, 19 George Taylor, 20 Benjamin Grondona, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Sam Worsley, 23 Noah Heward.

Sale Sharks: 15 Arron Reed, 14 Tom O’Flaherty, 13 Joe Bedlow, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Alex Wills, 10 Rob du Preez, 9 Raffi Quirke; 8 Tom Curry, 7 Ernst van Rhyn (captain), 6 Jacques Vermeulen, 5 Ben Bamber, 4 Tom Burrow, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Si McIntyre
Replacements: 16 Nathan Jibulu, 17 Tumy Onasanya, 18 James Harper, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Dan du Preez, 21 Gus Warr, 22 Ollie Davies, 23 Tristan Woodman

Newcastle 25-19 Gloucester

The scorers:

For Newcastle:
Tries: McGuigan, Christie, Cruz
Cons: Connon 2
Pens: Connon 2

For Gloucester:
Tries: Thorley, Austin, Knight
Cons: R Byrne 2

Teams:

Newcastle Red Bulls: 15 Ethan Grayson, 14. Christian Wade, 13. Alex Hearle, 12. Sammy Arnold, 11. Elliott Obatoyinbo, 10. Brett Connon, 9. Simón Benítez Cruz; 8. Ollie Leatherbarrow, 7. Tom Christie, 6. Tom Gordon, 5. Jamie Hodgson, 4. Oscar Usher, 3. Richard Palframan, 2. George McGuigan (captain), 1. Murray McCallum, .
Replacements: 16 Ollie Fletcher, 17 Connor Hancock, 18 Luan de Bruin, 19 Finn Baker, 20 Amanaki Mafi, 21 James Elliott, 22 Boeta Chamberlain, 23 Oli Spencer.

Gloucester: 15 Charlie Atkinson, 14 Jack Cotgreave, 13 Will Knight, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Tomos Williams (captain), 8 Jack Clement, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 Deian Gwynne, 5 Arthur Clark, 4 Freddie Thomas, 3 Afo Fasogbon, 2 Will Crane, 1 Val Rapava Ruskin
Replacements: 16 George Knowles, 17 Ciaran Knight, 18 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19 Cam Jordan, 20 James Venter, 21 Mikey Austin, 22 George Barton, 23 Josh Hathaway