The Curry twins – Ben and Tom – showcased their quality in attack and defence, fly-half George Ford looked back to his best, contributing 21 points in a kicking masterclass, and Manu Tuilagi’s powerful contribution will have forced England head coach Steve Borthwick to take notice.
Bristol struggled for creativity with the absence of their star centre Semi Radradra and this underwhelming display sums up a below par season, with Friday’s defeat all but ending their faint top four hopes.
Sale had won just one of their last four coming into this game but are now only one win away from a home tie in the last four and the Curry brothers were delighted with the victory.
Ben Curry said: “It’s really nice being back together playing again. As a group, results haven’t gone our way so it was important to get a win today so we can kick on.
“It would have been nice to have got five points but fair play to Gus (Warr), Fordy and Rob (du Preez) they controlled the game really well. They put the forwards in the right position, so a lot of credit has to go to them.
Denne historien er fra April 16, 2023-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
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Denne historien er fra April 16, 2023-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
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Riley: We believe we can make top four
SAM Riley is bullish about Quins prospects of stashing some silverware in the Twickenham Stoop cabinet and confirms the Londoners’ sights are fixed on all targets.
This Italian squad are good - but not quite their best side
HAVING reported on Italy since the early 1990s, I wouldn’t hesitate to nominate the current crop as the strongest all-round Azzurri squad in modern history … but I’m not sure yet whether they are the best Italy side ever.
Smith has diamonds on the soles of his shoes
FIN Smith confirmed that he is a big match player to the soles of his boots when he banged over the 50m penalty ten minutes from time which eventually wrestled the Calcutta Cup from Scotland’s grip for the first time in four years.
Wall times it perfectly to snatch it at the death
EXETER lock Dorothy Wall dotted down amid a bundle of bodies to break the deadlock in the final play and give Chiefs an end of season victory at Welford Road.
Hardy is getting back to his best
AFTER going through a challenging spell in his career, Kieran Hardy is now enjoying his rugby again and playing with a smile on his face.
Start off with the 'new' and finish with the old
I FIND it hard to understand why there are now so many breaks in the Six Nations competition as after just having a week off we now face another break extending the competition from the February 1 to March 15.
Northampton get it right this time
NORTHAMPTON put their finals day ghosts behind them to win their first Premiership U18 Academy final since 2014.
It's Sale at a canter as late scores clinch win
SALE got the better of their near-table rivals Birmingham Moseley with a decisive win under the lights at Heywood Road.
This brotherhood of mates is what keeps us together
THAT was an awesome performance from the boys. We were talking all week about putting in an 80-minute display and I definitely felt we did that.
French stars need to get on the same page
HOW will France respond in Rome after losing to England? I don’t believe that French supporters will be feeling that charitable towards their own team after their defeat at Twickenham, and will want to see the record set straight against Italy this afternoon.
