Sale 27-10 Gloucester: Gallagher Prem 2025/26 season begins with Sharks victory as Nathan Jibulu scores on debut

Sale Sharks safe opening-night win of latest season at residence after getting back from being 10-5 behind to Gloucester at half-time; Nathan Jibulu scores on debut with Tom Roebuck and George Ford additionally outstanding in victory

New signing Nathan Jibulu scored a second-half strive as Sale beat Gloucester
27-10 to assert a bonus-point win on the opening evening of the brand new Gallagher Prem
season.

The hooker, a summer time acquisition from Harlequins, dived over the road from a driving maul within the 56th minute earlier than Joe Carpenter and Hyron Andrews added late scores to safe the bonus level.

England winger Tom Roebuck’s strive put Sale forward within the sixteenth minute however George Skivington’s guests hit again by way of Jack Clement’s landing on the stroke of half-time.

But Jibulu’s strive levelled issues at 10-10 after Clement had been sin-binned and George Ford’s conversion edged Sale again in entrance at 12-10.

Ford then equipped the go to ship Carpenter over for the hosts’ third strive earlier than Andrews grabbed their fourth for the bonus level.

How Sale got here from behind to open new season in fashion

Sale started brightly with England fly-half Ford trying to orchestrate their assaults with some deft dealing with and probing kicks.

Ford’s England team-mates Carpenter, Roebuck, Bevan Rodd, Asher Opoku-Fordjour and Ben Curry additionally began whereas new membership captain Ernst van Rhyn led Sale for the primary time.

Gloucester’s membership captain Tomos Williams made his first look since struggling a hamstring harm when taking part in for the British and Irish Lions throughout their summer time tour of Australia.

He began alongside new signing Ross Byrne at half-back, whereas Harrison Bellamy made his first Prem begin within the pack and new signing Ben Loader lined up on the correct wing.

However Sale opened the scoring when Roebuck collected a free ball near the Gloucester line and dived over to assert the primary strive of the brand new season.

Ford couldn’t convert however the hosts continued to carry the higher hand and thought that they had been rewarded with a second strive within the thirty first minute.

A Sale lineout on the correct flank led to Rodd being pushed over the road however the TMO chalked the strive off for an obstruction as Gloucester survived.

From there the guests started to vogue some promising strikes they usually lastly bought off the mark within the thirty fifth minute when Byrne kicked a long-range penalty.

And their stress advised on the stroke of half-time when Clement charged by way of the house defence to cross the road from shut vary with Byrne changing to present Gloucester a 10-5 interval lead.

Sale thought that they had their second strive shortly after half-time when scrum-half Gus Warr had a strive dominated out by the TMO for a ahead go.

Gloucester then misplaced their tryscorer Clement to the sin bin for bringing down a maul illegally they usually had been punished when Jibulu went over from shut vary and Ford transformed earlier than including a penalty.

Joe Carpenter (left) celebrates his strive

With eight minutes remaining, Ford threw an beautiful go out to Carpenter inside the correct channel and the full-back confirmed his class to energy over the road for a strive which Ford transformed.

Within the final minute, Andrews completed off some intelligent dealing with in the correct nook for the bonus-point strive.