Sale Sharks saw off any challenge of an opening day upset in Greater Manchester as last season’s Premiership finalists beat Bedford Blues 47-12 at the AJ Bell Stadium in the opening pool game of the Premiership Cup.
The opening skirmishes of the new season showed promise for Mike Rayer’s side, as Dean Adamson reminded everyone of his pace and guile but was pulled up just short of the try line as the Blues went on the hunt for the opening score.
Minutes later though, Sale had taken the lead; Telusa Veainu’s mazy run beginning a swift move that was finished off by Nye Thomas before Ethan Caine doubled their lead on the twenty minute mark.
Bedford’s start was also punctuated by the untimely loss of captain, Alex Day to injury after just ten minutes.
Sole Bedford score dents sizable Sale lead
Bedford were getting a fair bit of the ball but a top tier defence from the Sharks kept them at bay and the hosts only extended their lead thanks to an Obi Ene try and a second for Caine as they secured a bonus point before half time.
James Lennon, who came on as a replacement for Day, did get the Blues on the board but Arron Reed – another first half substitute – dampened any brief Blues celebrations with Sale’s fifth on the stroke of the half-time whistle to give Sale a 33-5 lead at the interval.
After a relatively serene opening ten minutes of the second half, Nye Thomas scored his second after the Sale pack gained possession at the breakdown, gifting Thomas the try.
Cameron King, also off the bench in making his competitive Blues debut, did get a consolation try to bring the score back to 40-12, although any smiles were once again swiftly removed thanks to Robin Williams’ late sin binning.
The hosts had the last laugh as Rouban Birch scored a deserved try to give the Sharks a 47-12 win as the favourites kicked off the Premiership Cup with maximum points.
Elsewhere in Bedford’s group, Newcastle Falcons were comfortable victors at Ampthill while Leicester Tigers barely got out of second gear in their 50-6 win against Caldy.
Cornish Pirates were close to providing an upset in the opening game of this new cup competition on Friday night but fell short against Bath, but Coventry did provide a spark with an impressive 28-14 victory against Premiership opposition in Saracens earlier on Saturday afternoon.
Exeter Chiefs smashed Bristol 75-0, while there were also victories for Harlequins, Gloucester and Doncaster Knights who beat Championship new boys, Cambridge 38-11 on Friday night.
