A chill evening saw Bristol take on Sale on a familiar day for the visitors but an unusual one for Bristol.  The first half had the distinction of being scoreless, unusual in the modern game.  However, it would be a mistake to think the half lacked entertainment.  Although the initial exchanges were inconclusive both sides looked to play with a degree of adventure and no little skill.  It was well into the first quarter before Bristol were able to apply significant pressure as Shaun Perry launched a long kick into touch just short of the try line.  Sale cleared but Tom Arscott fielded the kick and counterattacked.  His brother Luke backed him up before the ball was taken on by Jason Hobson.  Here the move came to a halt, but not before Bristol were awarded a penalty that was boldly kicked crossfield.  Tarscott raced for the ball but it was fractionally too far.

Sale now put some good moves of their own together but the Bristol defence held firm.  The half was approaching its end when Bristol launched another good looking attack.  Sadly the move broke down with a knock on (unfortunately this was a feature of the game from both sides but the refereeing didn't help with a number of baffling decisions around this aspect of the game).  Sale capitalised on the error by hoofing the ball downfield.  Inexplicably they were then awarded a penalty but Hodgson, sharp throughout, was wide with his long range effort.  An arcing run from Dan Ward-Smith followed a ‘daring' Luke Arscott dash from behind his own line and led to good field position that Bristol were unable to exploit before the half concluded.

The second half started much as the first had finished, and one had the feeling that, if any points were scored, the floodgates would open.  Perry set Tarscott free but he was closed down by the Sale defence.  The Bristol pack then attempted a catch-and-drive move that resulted in a penalty that Ed Barnes nailed to give Bristol a 3 - 0 lead with nearly 50 minutes gone.  The lead was short-lived when Sale won good quality lineout ball and worked a neat two on one overlap that allowed Cox to go over in the corner.  Hodgson made no mistake with his kick and it was 3 - 7.  It was then Bristol's turn to score when Barnes broke through and attempted to offload.  A Sale hand got in the way and tipped the ball back towards their line.  The defence was slow to react, perhaps thinking the ball had been knocked on.  Neil Brew, a potent attacking threat, latched onto the ball, handed off the last defender and went over by the posts.  Barnes was unerring with the straightforward conversion and Bristol had edged back in front, 10 - 7.

The move of the match then swiftly followed when Foden, who seemingly wants to play scrum-half rather than full-back, went round half the Bristol side as he wove his way towards the line.  The ‘tackling' was poor to non-existent and he was over for one of the best individual tries the Memorial Ground has seen for some time.  Hodgson converted for a 10 -14 lead with an hour played.

Sale, looking to improve their league position, tried to finish Bristol off; replacement McAlister particularly prominent.  The Bristol lineout, more than adequate in the first half started to malfunction and, consequently, Sale had more attacking ball and Bristol were forced onto the back foot.  This possession eventually told when Hodgson who had dropped a goal.  There was a really obvious Sale knock on just before the ball went back to the fly-half but the score stood at 10 -17.  Hodgson, who was starting to exercise real control of the game, then made a good break of his own and he set Jones free to romp over for a converted try and a score of 10 - 24.

Sale were surely looking for the bonus point try that would take them to second in the league, but instead it was Bristol who held on to the ball and kept the surprised visitors under pressure as the match drew to a close.  Andrew Blowers appeared to half scored but was deemed to have lost the ball as he went over, but Bristol maintained their efforts. The ball was eventually spread wide before a poor pass seemed to have halted the move.  However, David Lemi made an astonishing pick-up off his toes, kept his balance and scythed over the line.  Replacement Jason Strange converted well and the final score was 17 - 24.

It was an entertaining game that Sale deserved to win.  There were hints of the more adventurous style of play that has been promised.  Perry was more positive than his two recent outings, Brew was strong defensively and sharp in taking his try.  Eves, when he came on, complemented Brew well and the Arscotts again performed well.  On the down side the improved lineout performance of the first half fell away badly in the second.  Some of the tackling was weaker than we have come to expect.  On balance, though it was an encouraging performance.

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