Bristol Bears 0-38 Sale Sharks: Player ratings as Sale hammer Bristol for first away win of season
Yesterday at 05:59 AM
A ruthless defensive performance saw Sale Sharks defeat Bristol Bears 38-0, winning away from home for the first time since against Saracens on May 18th.
The visitors went into the break 20-0 up after a frantic start, scrum half Raffi Quirke crossed the paint after just three minutes, stepping inside Viliame Mata following an attacking maul.
Tom Roebuck extended the Sharks lead midway through the opening period whilst Bears scrum half, Harry Randall was in the sin bin; after a number of pick and goes near to the Bristol line the ball came wide to the Sale winger thanks to a brilliant George Ford pass for him to dive over in the corner.
The Sale dominance continued in the second half as Ben Curry and Tom O'Flaherty both scored interception tries as the Bears were kept to nought for the first time in over eight years.
BRISTOL BEARS: 0
TRIES: 0
PENALTIES: 0
CONVERSIONS: 0
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 0 (Randall 22')
RED CARDS: 0
SALE SHARKS: 38
TRIES: 4 (Quirke 3', Roebuck 24', B Curry 49', O'Flaherty 66')
PENALTIES: 3 (R Du Preez 8', 42', 61')
CONVERSIONS: 3 (R Du Preez 4', 25', 50')
DROP GOALS: 1 (Ford 39')
YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Bedlow 80')
RED CARDS: 0
BRISTOL BEARS:
15. Rich Lane – 7
Lane made some lovely long passes to find dangerous teammates like Ibitoye in wide channels throughout the game however dropped the ball on a couple of occasions.
14. Jack Bates – 7
Bates made a couple of impressive carries on the right wing, exploding through tackles to make line breaks for the Bears. In the 55th minute he made an unbelievable break before chipping and chasing the ball in behind B Curry, showing the raw speed which he can offer his side. The young Bristolian winger looked shaky under the high ball though, knocking on midway through the first half when pressurised by O'Flaherty.
13. Kalaveti Ravouvou – 6
It was a quiet game for Ravouvou by the Fijians standard, however he carried the ball well when he did, earning vital metres for Bristol. Ravouvou knocked the ball on under no pressure in the 51st minute under very little pressure, giving Sale an attacking scrum in a play which somewhat summed his evening up.
12. Benhard Janse van Rensburg – 6
Janse van Rensburg made a couple of strong carries against the brick-wall like Sale defence. The South African was also able to show how slick his handling skills are, helping the ball into wider channels.
11. Gabriel Ibitoye – 6
Ibitoye made only one impressive line break midway through the first half before being replaced by Elizalde in the 31st minute.
10. Sam Worsley – 5
It was a challenging game for the young Bristolian 10 in his first Premiership start, he missed touch from kicks to the corner twice in the first half and saw a drop goal attempt drift just wide on the half hour mark. That said, Worsley tried to control the way Bristol played in difficult conditions, particularly during Randall's yellow card period, putting clever kicks in behind to alleviate pressure. He was replaced by James Williams in the 56th minute.
9. Harry Randall – 4
The dominant Sale defence stopped Bristol from being able to get fast, front foot ball which stopped Randall from being able to show his class. The scrum half attempted two box kicks which were both unsuccessful (the first went straight into touch while the second was charged down by Hill). Randall was also shown a yellow card in the 22nd minute for pulling back Cowan-Dickie as his England teammate rumbled towards the Bears line.
1. Jake Woolmore – 6
Woolmore held his own in the scrum against the exciting Opoku-Fordjour and preformed admirably either side of the ball, however he gave away a cheap offside penalty in the 48th minute which invited Sale into the Bears 22.
2. Harry Thacker – 7
Thacker would have been pleased with his lineout efforts, throwing accurately throughout the match. The hooker repeatedly carried strongly into the relentless Sale defence before being replaced by Oghre midway through the second half.
3. Max Lahiff – 5
It was a difficult day for Lahiff against a dominant Rodd at scrum time. The Bristol tighthead conceded numerous penalties under the pressure of his opposite man before being replaced just after the interval by Kloska.
4. James Dun – 6
Dun fronted up physically, offering himself on both sides of the ball but struggled to be successful against a truly phenomenal Sale effort.
5. Joe Owen – 7
The second row continued his good form in his breakout season in a Bears shirt, making a few lovely touches and runs in the wide channels, Owen also ensured the Bears lineout functioned well in the absence of Joe Batley.
6. Steven Luatua – 6
A jackal turnover in the 42nd minute was the highlight for Luatua as the Bristol back five were dominated by the sheer power of Sale.
7. Fitz Harding (c) – 5
It was a challenging day for the Bristol skipper as he too faced the brunt of the relentless Sharks defence; Harding carried as frequently as usual but was smashed in the tackle more often than not. He threw the pass which was intercepted by B Curry as his opposite man scored the visitors third try and also conceded an off feet penalty in the 60th minute as his team started to chase the game.
8. Viliame Mata – 5
Similarly to his colleagues in the back row, Mata was dominated by Sale on both sides of the ball. The Fijian No. 8 was beaten on his inside by Quirke as the visitors scored early to set the tone for the match.
Replacements
16. Gabriel Oghre – 7
17. Yann Thomas – 6
18. George Kloska – 5
19. Jamie Hodgson – 6
20. Benjamin Grondona – 6
21. Kieran Marmion – 7
22. James Williams – 6
23. Benjamin Elizalde – 6
SALE SHARKS
15. Joe Carpenter – 6
Carpenter offered himself as a system player this evening ensuring that his defence was connected as his side did brilliantly to keep Bristol to nil. During the game Carpenter played at full back, on the wing and in the centres as the Sale backline battled injury with a 6-2 split on the bench.
14. Tom Roebuck – 7
Roebuck put in a brilliant performance, earning his try scored in the 24th minute. The winger offered himself around the park and even managed to win a jackal turnover in the latter stages of the game.
13. Rob Du Preez – 8
Pulling the conversion for O'Flaherty's try wide of the left post was one of very few flaws in R Du Preez' game this evening. The outside centre kicked six from seven and was brilliant around the park – particularly in the second half. In the 53rd minute he made a brilliant line break before offloading to Bedlow and four minutes later put in an outstanding cover tackle on Owen to force him into touch.
12. Luke James – 6
James was replaced by Sam Bedlow after eight minutes but played a part in the visitors fast start to the game.
11. Tom O'Flaherty – 7
O'Flaherty started slowly conceding a penalty early in the game for not rolling away but was able to show his class and that he still has incredible speed as he scored from 85 metres away with the help from Quirke in the 66th minute.
10. George Ford – 8
"Fordy's just Fordy, he steers the ship" said Alex Sanderson and that seemed a fair analysis of the fly half's performance this evening. A couple of brilliant kicks in behind epitomised Ford's game and the pass over the top to set up Roebuck's try was just magnificent.
9. Raffi Quirke – 9
The young scrum half put in an outstanding performance, which started with his individual try really early in the game. Along with Ford, Quirke gave Sale real tempo with the ball and ran a brilliant line inside O'Flaherty to help him score his try. Quirke even had a cameo on the wing while Bedlow was off for a head injury assessment, showing the value that he offers his team.
1. Bevan Rodd – 8
Rodd was supremely dominant in the scrum earning penalty after penalty against both Lahiff and Kloska before being replaced in the 59th minute.
2. Luke Cowan-Dickie – 7
The Sale set-piece, similarly to their defensive system, was dominant throughout the match which was partly down to Cowan-Dickie. The hooker scrummaged well, threw into the lineout accurately and offered himself around the park well both with and without the ball.
3. Asher Opoku-Fordjour – 7
Opoku-Fordjour was the third part of the Sale front row which powered through Bristol. The young prop would have been upset not to be able to test himself against Ellis Genge but did welk to stand his own against the experience of Woolmore.
4. Ernst Van Rhyn – 8
Van Rhyn put in a remarkable defensive effort, imposing himself as one of the defensive leaders in the Sale team. A huge shot on Owen in the 12th minute showed the way that South African lock wanted to play and wow did he fulfil that, making constant big tackles throughout the game.
5. Jonny Hill – 7
Hill was another component of the brilliant Sale engine room, playing his part in the sheer number of dominant hits that his side made throughout the match. The lock ensured that the Sharks lineout worked well and charged down Randall's box kick in the opening quarter of an hour to put the Bears under heaps of pressure.
6. Tom Curry – 8
T Curry worked really hard around the park, making constant hits stopping Bristol from being able to get a foothold in the game. He was replaced by JL Du Preez for a blood reversal until the end of the first half and upon his return won a huge jackal penalty which gave his side more points on the board.
7. Ben Curry (c) – 9
The Shark's skipper was named player of the match on the evening as he put in an absolutely remarkable performance, imposing himself on both sides of the ball throughout the game. He did brilliantly to read Harding's pass out the back on his own five metre line to intercept and score his sides third try of the evening but did even better shortly after to beat Bates in a foot race back towards his own line to recover the ball. B Curry was relentless this evening as he played in a way which epitomised the dogged way which Sanderson wants his Sale side to play.
8. Dan Du Preez – 7
Like the entirety of the Sale pack, Du Preez did really well to show his physical dominance on both sides of the ball. The Sale No. 8, carried brilliantly through the Bristol defence from restarts throughout the game.
Replacements
16. Ethan Caine – 6
17. Simon McIntyre – 6
18. Willgriff John – 6
19. Josh Beaumont – 6
20. Jean-Luc Du Preez – 7
21. Gus Warr – 7
22. Sam Bedlow – 6
23. Sam Dugdale – 7
The post Bristol Bears 0-38 Sale Sharks: Player ratings as Sale hammer Bristol for first away win of season appeared first on Ruck.
