Courtney Lawes returned to the Premiership with Sale Sharks but couldn't help his new side avoid defeat as Bristol ran in five tries in an entertaining season opener at Salford.
Courtney Lawes started his first Premiership match since 2024 for Sale but the Sharks lost 34-24 to Bristol.
The match saw high carry numbers and turnovers: 124 carries for Bristol versus 100 for Sale, and both sides lost 14 turnovers.
ADVERTISEMENT The 37-year-old England great made his first appearance in the competition since he led Northampton to the title at Twickenham in 2024 but it was Pat Lam's Bears who took the spoils. Sale's trio of new Wales forwards – Nicky Smith, Tomas Francis and Christ Tshiunza – all started on the bench against a Bristol side which included no new faces in the team after flanker Ethan Staddon suffered an ACL injury. Bristol forced the early pressure but former Sale fly-half AJ MacGinty missed a relatively straightforward penalty early on.
Richie Mo'unga's take on Wallabies "With Ruben out, it's still not clear-cut that I'm the one to do the job," That's the problem. Hansen blasts 'integrity' issue after Wallabies-Boks clash You've just engaged with his opinion… 23 Go to comments T Tooly 2 hours ago Wallabies great weighs in on Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii's wing switch Put Suaalii on a wing and leave him there. The Bears claimed their first try in the 12th minute when James Williams' long pass found Rees-Zammit and the Wales international dived over in the right corner.
Match Summary 1 Penalty Goals 1 3 Tries 5 3 Conversions 3 0 Drop Goals 0 124 Carries 100 11 Line Breaks 3 14 Turnovers Lost 14 2 Turnovers Won 8 He was joined on the sidelines by Kalaveti Ravouvou and Noah Heward, although Argentina lock Pedro Rubiolo was fit enough to play his first game since January. Sign up for free ADVERTISEMENT Latest Long Reads LONG READ Injured stars hope for Christmas miracles as URC rivals smell Irish blood in the water With two key Ireland players on the sidelines and all four provinces losing their opening URC games, the league's most dominant country is on the back foot. LONG READ Dave Rennie is getting the band back together.
NIK SIMON AT CORPACQ STADIUM: This was not what Courtney Lawes had in mind when he traded his life in France. There were great expectations for the forward's return to English rugby.
Lawes is back available for his country after signing for Sale Sharks
Lawes is back in the Prem after two years in France and has unfinished business at international level Courtney Lawes was not expecting to be named in Steve Borthwick’s pre‑season England squad over the weekend. While the 37-year-old has made clear that his return to the Prem with Sale Sharks is in no small part down t
England internationals Courtney Lawes and Joe Marchant won't automatically waltz back into the national set-up. The post No easy ride for England’s prodigal sons appeared first on SA Rugby magazine .
England selection should no longer be restricted to players based at domestic clubs, according to cap centurion Courtney Lawes.
The former England and British and Irish Lions prop has had quite the career since bursting onto the scene with Bath
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