Four-try Sale beat Gloucester in The Prem opener

The Prem

Sale (5) 27

Tries: Roebuck, Jibulu, Carpenter, Andrews Cons: Ford 2 Pens: Ford

Gloucester (10) 10

Sale Sharks kicked off the 2025-26 season of The Prem with a strong second-half display to beat Gloucester 27-10.

The Cherry and Whites led at the break through Jack Clement’s try and a Ross Byrne penalty, with Tom Roebuck getting the Sharks five points.

Sale hooker Nathan Jibulu’s driving score nudged the hosts in front in the second half before George Ford’s penalty extended their advantage.

Both sides started fast and aggressively and were initially evenly matched, with an impasse on the scoreboard until the16th minute when Roebuck tapped down in the corner. Despite what appeared to be a knock-on beforehand by Ben Curry, the try stood following a TMO check.

Gloucester underwent wholesale squad changes this summer, and with five debutants in their starting 15 they punched holes down the wings but showed rustiness particularly from set-pieces. Three line-outs went awry before a fourth put them five metres from Sale’s line for the first time, only to then be turned over.

Sale enjoyed the better possession and got the ball over the line a second time through Curry only for the TMO this time to rule it out for obstruction as the maul rolled forward.

Gloucester closed the gap through new fly-half Byrne’s 35th-minute penalty, and they took the lead impressively with the final play of the half after winning a first scrum penalty to allow Byrne to kick to the corner for a line-out.

Tomos Williams – playing his first minutes of rugby since a hamstring injury ended his Lions tour – switched the direction of play as the ball came out, and Clement found the line to run over and make it 10-5, but it would prove Gloucester’s final score of the night.

Sale have only lost once at home since January 2024 in the league and they turned the screw in the second-half. Gus Warr chased and grounded a grubber kick, but it was disallowed, this time for a forward pass in the build-up.

But with Clement shown yellow for a bringing down a maul, on their seventh visit to Gloucester’s 22, Sale finally had their second score through summer signing Jibulu, who drove over.

Ford’s penalty opened the lead to five points, before his long pass over the top found Carpenter in space and he sprinted and dived into the corner.

Sale: Carpenter; Roebuck, R. du Preez, Ma’asi-White, O’Flaherty; Ford, Warr; Rodd, Jibulu, Opoku-Fordjour; Van Rhyn (c), Bamber, Vermeulen, B. Curry, Dugdale.

Replacements: Caine, McIntyre, John, Andrews, Burrow, Hanson, Reed, Woodman.

Gloucester: C Atkinson; Loader, Llewellyn, S Atkinson, Thorley; Byrne, Williams (c); Bellamy, Innard, Fasogbon; Clark, Alemanno, Thomas, Venter, Clement.

Replacements: Freeman-Price, McArthur, Gotovtsev, Jordan, Ludlow, Englefield, Joseph, Edwards-Giraud.

Sin-bin: Jack Clement (50).