Sale stopped free-scoring Bristol in their tracks as they moved into the Premiership playoff places with a stunning 38-0 victory at Ashton Gate. Bristol had high hopes of going top above their West Country rivals Bath, but Sale did not allow them any time or space on the ball and Bears’ trademark running game hit the buffers. The scrum-half Raffi Quirke set the tone when he breached Bristol’s defence inside three minutes, and the Sharks never looked back.
Tom Roebuck added a second try before half-time, then the captain Ben Curry’s interception score sealed the deal midway through the third quarter, before Roebuck’s fellow wing Tom O’Flaherty secured a bonus point 14 minutes from time. The centre Rob du Preez kicked three penalties and three conversions, while their fly-half George Ford dropped a goal as Sale’s statement win served notice of their title credentials. “We know the threats they [Bristol] possess,” Sale’s defence coach, Byron McGuigan, told TNT Sports.
“They are super-creative, so the theme for us this week was how do we cage the bear? We came up with a plan and it paid off. It is a massive credit to the players. “We had to be mentally focused, and we didn’t want to waste a minute this week.
We had a clear plan to go after them. We knew we had to be at our best.” Curry said: “These are the games you want to play in.
The rugby wasn’t perfect, but we showed real togetherness. We feel like we have something to prove, not just to ourselv.