Rees-Zammit and Randall doubles lift Bristol to 34-24 win at Sale

Bristol Bears began their Prem season with a 34-24 away victory over Sale Sharks at CorpAcq Stadium, collecting a try bonus point after holding off a second-half challenge. According to BBC Sport's match report, Louis Rees-Zammit and Harry Randall each scored twice before replacement hooker Tomas Gwilliam supplied Bristol's fifth try in the 73rd minute.

Watch the highlights:

The result left Sale without either a try bonus point or a losing bonus point. It followed a difficult previous campaign in which the Sharks finished seventh, lost 13 league matches and recorded more home defeats than victories. Courtney Lawes and Joe Marchant were both in their starting side after returning from France, while Bristol began with no newcomers in their starting line-up.

Sale initially took advantage of a missed early penalty from Bristol fly-half AJ MacGinty, with Luke Cowan-Dickie scoring the opening try. Bristol then had a Tom Jordan effort disallowed following a quick lineout taken by Rees-Zammit. The visitors did get on the scoreboard when James Williams sent Rees-Zammit over, although a George Ford penalty subsequently gave Sale a five-point advantage.

Rees-Zammit's second finish, this time following a pass from Jordan, brought Bristol level. Williams then kicked a penalty to move the Bears ahead, and Randall added a try before the interval. Those scores turned Sale's early lead into a 20-10 half-time deficit, leaving the hosts needing to recover against a Bristol side that had scored three first-half tries.

Tom O'Flaherty reduced the gap soon after the restart, but Randall answered with his second try. Sale remained in contention through another O'Flaherty score, completing a move sparked by a break from Elia Canakaivata on his Prem debut. With the teams separated by only three points as the final 10 minutes approached, Bristol's lead was still under threat despite their four tries.

Gwilliam's late score from a driving maul gave Bristol the decisive advantage, restoring a 10-point margin. Ford missed a penalty in the 79th minute as Sale sought a route back into the match and a losing bonus point. Williams finished with three conversions and a penalty for the visitors, while Ford supplied three conversions and a penalty for Sale.