Rees-Zammit and Randall each score twice as Bristol edge Sale in Prem opener

Bristol Bears opened their Premiership campaign with a commanding 34-24 bonus-point victory at Sale Sharks on Saturday, with Louis Rees-Zammit and Harry Randall each scoring twice to give director of rugby Pat Lam the perfect start.

Sale touched down through hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie and a brace from winger Tom O’Flaherty, but Bristol’s backline proved too sharp in Salford. Randall earned the player of the match award, though Lam was quick to frame the result as a team achievement rather than an individual one.

“We know that it’s such a hard place to come and win up here, so I’m very pleased and proud of the boys,” Lam said. “I’m pleased because they got good evidence of the work they put into pre-season and the things we’ve been working on.”

On Randall’s recognition, Lam added: “I know Harry got the man of the match, but I look at the amount of work everyone did to produce a team effort. You know how many times I talk about that — I don’t really care who scores the tries. What I see is the work that went before it.”

Tomas Gwilliam added a late fifth try to seal the bonus point and underline Bristol’s dominance, though Lam acknowledged Sale had tested his side defensively. “Sale put us under a lot of pressure and we managed to hold them out,” he said.

For Sale, the afternoon was notable for the Premiership debut of Courtney Lawes, who signed from French club Brive during the summer. The 37-year-old back row played the full 80 minutes — his first appearance in the Premiership since captaining Northampton to the title at Twickenham in 2024.

Sharks head coach Alex Sanderson was encouraged by Lawes’s performance despite the defeat. “I thought he carried well and defensively he was strong — and it was eighty minutes for old legs,” Sanderson said. “Courtney certainly didn’t look off the pace and he’s probably one of many that we believe there’s more to come.”

Sanderson was less satisfied with his side’s overall execution, pinpointing basic errors as the key factor in the loss. “In elements of the game we were dominant but the basics let us down,” he said. “At times it was wildly frustrating with the inaccuracies with the ball and ill discipline without it. We just feel like we gave them too many opportunities.”