Ford and Tuilagi help Sale defeat Bristol to close in on home semi-final

A fine all-round display from George Ford and a powerful contribution from Manu Tuilagi kept Sale firmly on course for a home semi-final in this season’s Gallagher Premiership. The Sharks have now guaranteed their participation in the last four and showed far too much physicality for a Bristol side whose playoff hopes are now effectively over.

Both Ford and Tuilagi have endured injury-disrupted seasons but the England pair appear to be running into some decent form as the campaign approaches its closing furlongs. The influential Ford contributed 21 points on a damp, cool evening while Tuilagi was a regular handful with and without the ball as the Bears endured a mostly frustrating evening.

It might have been even worse had Ellis Genge seen red rather than yellow after a head clash with his international teammate Tom Curry. Eventually the referee Luke Pearce found sufficient mitigation not to send Genge off but the England prop’s departure to the sin-bin was the signal for the Sharks to tighten their grip on an increasingly lop-sided contest.

By the end, courtesy of tries from Ben Curry, Jean-Luc du Preez and Gus Warr and Ford’s unerring boot, there could be no doubting Sale’s status as genuine contenders for silverware in the coming weeks. “We know we’re a good team and we’ve seen patches of it in games but that was a more complete performance,” said Alex Sanderson, their director of rugby. “Big players finding form at this stage of the season is crucial and they did tonight.”

There is certainly a growing assurance about the Sharks and their forward pack takes very few backward steps. With the Curry twins back in harness, Tuilagi on the brink of signing a new contract and Ford expertly calling the tactical shots, there