Sale Sharks 38-17 Bristol Bears: Alex Sanderson’s men enjoy a taste of what may lie ahead

By Ross Heppenstall

Goodness knows it has been a season to forget for Sale Sharks, but this was a final-day victory to savour.

Alex Sanderson’s men outscored an understrength Bristol Bears side by six tries to three to confirm their place in the 2026-27 Investec Champions Cup.

Sale have underachieved this season, that cannot be denied, especially considering the wealth of talent in their ranks.

A number of youngsters, including big back-rower Reuben Logan, made a positive impression here to leave Sanderson in optimistic mood.

Excited

The Sale boss, sipping a cold pint of beer, said: “There were a lot of things to get excited about for next season, especially with our attacking model and all the young lads who finished the game.

“They got a taste of what a win feels like and I’m very positive about the future.

“We’ve had some really tough lessons this season and if something could have gone wrong this year – in any department – it probably has.

“These have been big, structural, organisational lessons which, through the pain of, I’ll never want to go through again.”

Bristol named an all-English matchday 23 to ensure they meet the RFU‘s EQP regulations, and they were understandably second-best.

Boss Pat Lam said: “I was really pleased with the fight that we showed because it’s going to hold our young lads in good stead.”

On target: Sale Sharks’ George Ford kicks for goal
PICTURE: Alamy

Match action

Sale soon led when George Ford collected possession and galloped over the line unopposed inside the left channel.

Ford kicked the conversion and it was not long before the hosts had their second try through Ben Bamber.

The imposing lock charged down the right flank and capitalised on a handling error by a Bristol defender to dive over in the corner.

Ford applied the conversion and Sale led 14-0, with scrum-half Raffi Quirke causing Bristol plenty of problems on his final appearance before joining Newcastle this summer.

And Quirke was the architect of their third try in the 16th minute when he sent a delightful chip over the top of the Bears’ defence.

Scotland winger Arron Reed raced forward to ground the ball and Ford added the extras to make it 21-0.

Joe Carpenter got in on the act in the 23rd minute when he supported the attack from full-back and dived over the line on a diagonal run.

Bristol showed little as an attacking force but scored from a rare attack in the 26th minute when Noah Heward dived over and Worsley converted.

The Bears scored again on the stroke of half-time when Tomas Gwilliam went over from close range for an unconverted score which made it 26-12.

On the charge: Sale Sharks’ Asher Opoku-Fordjour
PICTURE: Getty Images

Second half

Shortly after the break, Rekeiti Ma’asi-White took Tom Roebuck’s deft offload to score a try which Ford improved with his fourth conversion of the match.

Reed was denied his second after narrowly failing to ground the ball under the posts but he soon completed his brace with a fine finish in the right corner.

Worsley then supported a break late on to score Bristol’s third touchdown but Sale outscored their visitors by six tries to three.