Gallagher Prem: Bristol Bears fight back to beat Sale Sharks 19-17 as Newcastle claim first win of season

A late converted try from Kalaveti Ravouvou proved just enough for Bristol to maintain their winning run with a 19-17 victory as Sale lost on the road in the Gallagher Prem for a sixth consecutive game.

There was little between the teams, who fought a titanic battle, but Bristol just shaded the contest by scoring three tries to two.

Joe Owen and Matias Moroni were also on Bristol's tryscoring sheet with Tom Jordan and James Williams each kicking a conversion.

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Tom O'Flaherty and Ernest van Rhyn touched down for Sale with George Ford converting both and adding a penalty.

Sale suffered an early injury blow when they lost Alex Wills to a failed HIA after the wing was on the receiving end of a high challenge from Bears No 8 Viliame Mata. Gus Warr replaced him at the scrum-half berth with Raffi Quirke playing on the wing.

Bristol had the better of the early exchanges but, with their first attack, Sharks took the lead when a succession of forward drives on halfway created space for O'Flaherty. The wing took his opportunity in fine style, racing 35 metres along the right flank to outpace Ravouvou and score.

Ford nailed the touchline conversion and Sale had a 7-0 lead at the end of a feisty and competitive first quarter.

Ravouvou looked to have gained his revenge on O'Flaherty when he brushed the Sale man aside on a surging run deep into the opposition 22 but Bears conceded a breakdown penalty to prevent them capitalising.

The home side then lost two players in quick succession with first prop Lovejoy Chawatama hobbling off before Louis Rees-Zammit departed to a failed HIA.

Ford had a chance to extend Sharks' lead but made a complete hash of a drop-goal attempt so Bristol had their chance to draw level at the interval when Owen finished off a forward onslaught to force his way over for the last action of the half.

Four minutes after the restart, Sale regained the lead when an impressive line-out drive set up the platform for Van Rhyn to secure the touchdown.

Ford converted before kicking a straightforward penalty but Bristol responded with the best try of the game when skilful passing saw Moroni fly over in the corner.

Sale lost the lively Quirke to a leg injury and they suffered a further setback when Rekeiti Ma'asi-White was sin-binned for a deliberate offside as the visitors sought to repel another strong run from Moroni.

Bristol made it count by scoring another splendid try as Williams' break put the defence on the back foot to set up the chance for Ravouvou with the conversion from Williams seeing Bears home.

Newcastle hold off Gloucester to claim first win of season

Newcastle held off a spirited comeback from fellow strugglers Gloucester to earn their first Gallagher Prem win of the season with a 25-19 victory at Kingston Park.

George McGuigan opened the scoring for Newcastle and, with both teams reduced to 14 after Jamie Hodgson and Arthur Clark were sin-binned, Tom Christie bagged the hosts' second try before Ollie Thorley replied for Gloucester.

Brett Connon's penalty gave the Red Bulls a 15-5 lead at the break and following Simon Benitez Cruz's try after the restart, Gloucester's evening soured when Thorley was shown a 20-minute red card and Connon kicked another penalty.

The Cherry and Whites threatened a late comeback with tries from Mikey Austin and Ciaran Knight but Newcastle held on to clinch their first Prem win from nine outings.

An energetic start between the two basement clubs saw Gloucester apply some early pressure before Newcastle broke into opposition territory and from a lineout on the left, they used the maul to power over the line, with McGuigan touching down and Connon converting.

A scuffle broke out between Hodgson and Clark in the midfield, which resulted in both second-rowers being shown yellow in the 15th minute following a TMO consultation.

Only one minute later, Newcastle scored their second try of the night in a similar style to their opener as Christie went over from the maul, but Connon's kick flew wide.

The visitors responded when a quick switch to the right allowed Seb Atkinson to slip through the Red Bulls' defence and offload for Thorley to ground before Ross Byrne sent his conversion attempt wide.

Christian Wade looked bright on his Prem debut for Newcastle with some promising moves and Connon kicked a penalty straight down the middle to extend their advantage at half-time.

Benitez Cruz scored Newcastle's third try shortly after the restart after breaking through the Gloucester line and weaving through the middle to cross by the posts, with Connon adding the extras.

The visitors' evening took another twist when Thorley was shown a 20-minute red card for a head collision from the kick-off and after a good spell of pressure, Connon extended Newcastle's lead to 25-5 from the tee.

Despite being a player down, Gloucester pulled one back following a great move from Cam Jordan to surge into space and pass into Austin, who dived over the line and Byrne converted.

The Cherry and Whites closed the gap further with eight minutes to play when Knight's try was confirmed by the TMO, with Byrne adding the extras.

Another great move by the visitors saw them threaten on the try-line again but Newcastle navigated a nervy final few minutes to wrap up victory.