Bristol will be happy. No one else will. Neutrals, alas, will be the most upset of all by this, traumatised even. There was a good try, scored by Semi Radradra, whose introduction on the hour was less a tactical masterstroke, more a humanitarian gesture to those watching, so dreadful had the action been up till then. But when the final whistle sounded the crowd awoke to the news that Bristol had snuck a first win here since 2017.
Radradra’s try means they will take a one-point lead back to Ashton Gate on Friday for the second leg. Rarely had a full-time whistle been yearned for more keenly, but it actually meant only half-time in the tie. That was perhaps the most depressing thing of all.
The two-legged nature of the affair had prompted Pat Lam to leave Charles Piutau and Radradra on the bench and, boy, was the game poorer for it. Rarely has a match required the concept of the “finisher” more. And the sooner the game could finish the better. The score on the hour was 6-3, which massively flattered those first 60 minutes.
For a match report to be reduced to discussing individual penalties hopefully says more about the match than the writer. Even to indulge each scoring incident of the first 40 minutes with a description would be a flattery too far.
Suffice it to say, two penalties by Rob du Preez opened up a 6-0 lead for the home side in the first 10 minutes, a break down the left by Arron Reed worthy of a mention at least in the buildup to the first.
If only Sale could have involved Reed more. The youngster has real pace and, until Radradra’s intervention, provided the game’s only breaks from mediocrity.
Otherwise, we are talking some infringements or other at the breakdown for the rest of the half’s points. As for any variety, we had to look to the skies, whence water cascaded for a little while, to make a change from rugby balls.
Presumably unable to take much more of this, Lam introduced Piutau for the second half. Early indications were hopeful, when some footwork by the latter released Harry Randall on a run, but Kyle Sinckler, England international, flung another pass to the floor, before Dave Attwood, England international, did the same. End of passage.
It would be no distortion whatsoever to offer that vignette as a summary of the first hour or so. Except for the good bit by Piutau that sparked it - that would be to offer a misleading impression of quality. Even Randall, not just an England international but the actual England scrum-half, took to sending passes to no one.
So Lam introduced Radradra for the final quarter. At last we had something. It came from a mistake, obviously - Simon Hammersley spilling the latest high ball - but from the scrum Piers O’Conor sprung Radradra through Sale’s midfield. The finish by the Fijian was, unquestionably, of the highest quality.
Thus Sale found themselves 10-6 down with 10 minutes to go. When they were offered the chance of a shot at goal with five minutes to go - some breakdown infringement or other - Du Preez chose to go for goal to pull them back to within a point. They certainly had not looked like scoring any other way.
“Therein lies the beauty of the double-header,” said Alex Sanderson, Sale’s director of rugby. “Patience is a virtue; anger is a gift. Any frustration or anger that we have, we get to exercise it all. Roll on Friday night.”
