Bok scores as Sharks make play-off statement

FRIDAY WRAP: Sale Sharks secured a thrilling 41-27 bonus-point win over play-off rivals Bristol to leapfrog Pat Lam’s side into third spot with just one round of the Premiership season remaining.

ADVERTISEMENT

Alex Sanderson’s Sharks are formidable on home soil, and a dominant first-half display saw them go 20-5 ahead and lay the platform for victory.

Back row forward Dan du Preez scored the hosts’ first try and, although the Bears responded with a fine individual effort from Harry Randall, Sale scored again before the break through hooker Tadgh McElroy.

The second half turned into a try-fest as Bristol crossed twice late on to secure a losing bonus point, but this defeat was a big setback to their play-off hopes.

Sale, missing their injured Lions Luke Cowan-Dickie and Tom Curry, began brightly and led in the ninth minute when George Ford kicked a penalty to put them 3-0 up.

It was just reward for their bright start, and from there, the home side were largely dominant.

Ford, overlooked for inclusion in Andy Farrell’s British and Irish Lions squad, has been in fine form recently and continued that rich vein against Bristol.

ADVERTISEMENT

His neat pass sent wing Tom Roebuck charging the Bristol defence, but his progress was halted.

It was indicative of the opportunities on offer to Sale as Ford continued to run the show in the middle of the park.

His team scored their first try in the 23rd minute when Rob du Preez and captain Ben Curry combined to find Dan du Preez down the right flank.

The South African back row forward was not to be denied as he crossed the line to score, and Ford added the conversion.

ADVERTISEMENT

Bristol soon hit back when Randall collected possession deep inside Sale territory and showed impressive skill to outfox the home defence and scamper over.

But the initiative remained largely with Sale, and Ford added his second penalty as the half-hour mark approached.

Four minutes before the break, with the Sharks pushing hard for another try, McElroy had the strength to power his way over from close range, and Ford converted to make it 20-5 at the break.

But with Ellis Genge introduced at half-time, Bristol upped the tempo after the break, and Viliame Mata scored in the 48th minute after being driven over from close range.

In the 54th minute, Jonny Hill showed impressive strength to dive over from close range, and Ford converted again to put Sale 27-10 up.

Yet Bristol refused to lie down, and an acrobatic finish from Siva Naulago in the right corner – converted by James Williams – cut Sale’s lead to 10 points.

Rekeiti Ma’asi-White and Raffi Quirke then went over for Sale’s fourth and fifth tries before Bristol scored late on through Harry Byrne and Kalaveti Ravouvou for a losing bonus point.
Recommended

* Gloucester kept their play-off hopes alive with a 26-12 win over rock-bottom Newcastle at Kingston Park.

Ben Stevenson opened the scoring for Newcastle, but the visitors took the lead through a Chris Harris try, and yellow cards for home duo Callum Chick and Cameron Neild allowed Gloucester to take charge as they scored a penalty try before Seb Atkinson crossed.

Harris was then sent to the sin bin minutes into the second half of a scrappy encounter, with Jack Cotgreave securing the bonus point for Gloucester before Joe Davis replied for the hosts.

Newcastle’s hopes of a strong finish were dashed as Stevenson was shown red for an aerial challenge on Santi Carreras, and fifth-placed Gloucester saw the game out to remain in the hunt for a top-four finish.

The game was a final outing at Kingston Park for Newcastle captain Chick and Jamie Blamire as they prepare to depart the club, and in the opening minutes, the Falcons enjoyed a promising string of phases stemming from a scrum five metres away from the Gloucester tryline.

Despite some solid defence from the visitors, Newcastle won the ball back on the halfway line and their early threat paid off when Stevenson was played in on the left flank to dive in at the corner. However, Brett Connon’s subsequent conversion whistled past the upright.

Although Gloucester struggled to build rhythm, they eventually found success from the line-out when Harris broke away and squeezed through a gap before touching down underneath the posts, with Carreras converting to put the Cherry and Whites ahead.

Spurred on by their try, Gloucester began to dominate, and Newcastle were suddenly plunged into trouble when two yellow cards were shown in quick succession.

Chick was the first to depart, and the visitors soon capitalised by scoring a penalty try, with Neild then following his skipper to the sin bin following another maul offence.

Using their two-player advantage, Atkinson burst down the centre of the pitch from inside his own to cross under the posts, with Carreras adding the extras to make it 21-5.

Gloucester had seemingly struck again when Ruan Ackermann charged down Sam Stuart’s kick to cross, but his effort was disallowed for offside.

An entertaining opening to the second half saw Newcastle threaten on the Gloucester tryline, and Harris sent to the sin bin for a high tackle before the away side won a penalty to ease the pressure.

The visitors suddenly extended their lead when Atkinson broke through the Falcons’ defensive line before offloading to Cotgreave, who crossed in the corner. Carreras sent his conversion effort well wide, though.

Newcastle then struck as Stevenson launched into a brilliant mazy run before playing in Davis, who dived underneath the posts, and Connon converted to make it 26-12.

The hosts threatened to reduce the deficit further still, but Max Pepper was hauled down just in front of the tryline before Freddie Lockwood had a great chance but was unable to ground.

Stevenson was then shown red in the 74th minute for his challenge on Carreras and Newcastle slumped to a 15th Premiership defeat of the season.

All Friday’s scores and scorers …

Newcastle Falcons 12-26 Gloucester

The scorers

For Newcastle Falcons
Tries: Stevenson, Davis
Con: Connon

For Gloucester
Tries: Harris, Atkinson, Cotgreave, Penalty try
Cons: Carreras 2, penalty try does not require a conversion

Red card: Ben Stevenson (Newcastle Falcons, 76)
Yellow cards: Callum Chick (Newcastle Falcons, 21), Cameron Neild (Newcastle Falcons, 24), Chris Harris (Gloucester, 44)

Teams

Newcastle Falcons: 15 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 14 Ben Redshaw, 13 Alex Hearle, 12 Sammy Arnold, 11 Ben Stevenson, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Sam Stuart, 8 Callum Chick (captain), 7 Tom Gordon, 6 Cameron Neild, 5 Sebastian de Chaves, 4 John Hawkins, 3 Murray McCallum, 2 Jamie Blamire, 1 Adam Brocklebank.
Replacements: 16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Micky Rewcastle, 18 Luan de Bruin, 19 Oscar Usher, 20 Freddie Lockwood, 21 Joe Davis, 22 Oli Spencer, 23 Max Pepper.

Gloucester: 15 Santi Carreras, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Jack Cotgreave, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Lewis Ludlow (captain), 6 Freddie Thomas, 5 Freddie Clarke, 4 Arthur Clark, 3 Kirill Gotovtsev, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Ciaran Knight.
Replacements: 16 Seb Blake, 17 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 18 Afolabi Fasogbon, 19 Cam Jordan, 20 Albert Tuisue, 21 Caolan Englefield, 22 Charlie Atkinson, 23 Will Butler.

Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant referees: Hamish Grant, Neil Chivers
TMO: Hamish Smales

Sale Sharks 41-27 Bristol Bears

The scorers

For Sale Sharks
Tries: D du Preez, McElroy, Hill, Maasi-White, Quirke
Cons: Ford 5
Pens: Ford 2

For Bristol Bears
Tries: Randall, Mata, Naulago, Byrne, Ravouvou
Con: Williams

Teams

Sale Sharks: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Rob du Preez, 12 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 George Ford, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Dan du Preez, 7 Ben Curry (captain), 6 Jean-Luc du Preez, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Ernst van Rhyn, 3 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 2 Tadgh McElroy, 1 Bevan Rodd.
Replacements: 16 Alfie Longstaff, 17 Si McIntyre, 18 WillGriff John, 19 Ben Bamber, 20 Sam Dugdale, 21 Raffi Quirke, 22 Sam Bedlow, 23 Alex Wills.

Bristol Bears: 15 Rich Lane, 14 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 James Williams, 11 Gabriel Ibitoye, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Fitz Harding (captain), 6 Santiago Grondona, 5 Joe Batley, 4 Josh Caulfield, 3 George Kloska, 2 Gabriel Oghre, 1 Jake Woolmore.
Replacements: 16 Will Capon, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 James Dun, 20 Joe Owen, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Siva Naulago.

Referee: Adam Leal
Assistant referees: Karl Dickson, Jamie Leahy
TMO: Andrew Jackson

New tickets for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 are now available, with prices starting at £10 for adults and £5 for children. Buy now!

Join free

Top 10 inspiring Lions speeches

United States of Rugby | Episode 1 – Welcome to Dawgtown

Top 10 Best Lions Tries of the 2000s

Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo vs Kubota Spears | Japan Rugby League One 2024/25 Final | Full Match Replay

Saitama Wild Knights vs Kobe Steelers | Japan Rugby League One 2024/25 Bronze Final | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 42 | Investec Champions Cup Final Review

Spain's Incredible Rugby Sevens Journey to the World Championship Final | HSBC SVNS Embedded | Episode 14

The Game that Made Jonah Lomu

Write A Comment