Sale 27-47 Glasgow: Seven-try Warriors pull clear after early scare

Glasgow Warriors recovered from 12–0 down to beat Sale Sharks 47–27 at the CorpAcq Stadium, opening their Champions Cup campaign with a bonus-point victory.

Late tries from Ollie Smith and debutant Tavi Tuipulotu finally settled a contest in which Sale repeatedly threatened a comeback. Glasgow finished with seven tries and maximum points.

Before kick-off, players, staff and supporters observed a minute’s silence for former Sale lock Hyron Andrews, who died in France on Friday.

Sale 27-47 Glasgow: Yellow cards change the opening exchanges

Sale made a strong start, with Ben Curry scoring from a lineout move and Arron Reed adding a second try inside the opening 10 minutes. George Ford converted Curry’s effort to help establish a 12-point advantage.

However, two yellow cards gave Glasgow an opportunity to respond.

Gus Warr was sent to the sin-bin after illegally stopping a maul, with referee Craig Evans awarding a penalty try. Tom Roebuck then joined him on the sidelines following a trip.

Kyle Steyn crossed to put Glasgow ahead before Ford’s penalty briefly restored Sale’s lead. Jamie Dobie’s finish, converted by George Horne, gave the visitors a 21–15 advantage at half-time.

Tuipulotu brothers help Glasgow finish the job

Alex Craig extended Glasgow’s lead after the restart, but Rekeiti Ma’asi-White’s converted try brought Sale back within four points.

Rory Darge responded from another powerful Glasgow maul. Still, the hosts refused to fall away, with Joe Carpenter’s offload releasing Reed for his second try.

At 33–27 with the closing stages approaching, Glasgow still had work to do.

Sione Tuipulotu supplied the decisive break and offload for Smith to score, before his younger brother Tavi marked his senior debut with a try from another driving maul.

Those late scores turned a narrow advantage into a 20-point winning margin.

Franco Smith welcomes Glasgow’s attacking variety

Glasgow’s ability to threaten through both their forwards and backs proved decisive, although head coach Franco Smith identified their handling of restarts as an area to improve.

“I think you must have more than one string to your bow in this competition,” Smith told The Offside Line.

Sione Tuipulotu was named player of the match, while the contribution of Glasgow’s replacements helped them finish strongly after Sale had kept the outcome uncertain for much of the afternoon.

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