The Prem, Ashton Gate

Bristol (7) 19

Tries: Owen, Moroni, Ravouvou Cons: Jordan, Williams

Sale (7) 17

Tries: O'Flaherty, van Rhyn Cons: Ford (2) Pens: Ford

Kalaveti Ravouvou's try nine minutes from time earned Bristol Bears a hard-fought win over Sale Sharks at Ashton Gate to take them top of The Prem.

Sale winger Tom O'Flaherty scored the night's first try before Joe Owen replied for Bristol on the stroke of half-time as the sides went into the break 7-7.

Sharks captain Ernst van Rhyn and a George Ford penalty put the visitors back in front before Matias Moroni's try brought Bristol back within five points.

Bristol had largely been shut down in attack by a tremendous Sale defence but the home side finally found their fluency and worked Ravouvou in for the winning try.

With Rekeiti Ma'asi-White in the sin-bin, Bristol kept the ball alive in contact and space eventually opened for Jimmy Williams to break through midfield.

He kept the play going to the left wing, where Ravouvou cut sharply inside past the covering defence and walked under the posts for a classic Bristol score.

It was Bristol's fourth successive Prem victory and despite a host of early season injuries, they are mounting a serious title challenge.

Sale are left needing another strong run in the second half of the season to make the play-offs as they sit 12 points outside the top four.

They will no doubt be frustrated at not closing out a game they largely controlled, limiting Bristol's attacking intent by suffocating space in midfield and limiting opportunities in the wide channels.

It was the visitors who scored first as Raffi Quirke, the scrum-half forced on to the wing after Alex Wills failed a head injury assessment, made a break before play was swung right and O'Flaherty outstripped Ravouvou to score in the corner.

Twice Bristol were denied close to the line but flanker Owen barged over with the last play of the half to send the sides in level.

Sale regained the lead with the first attack of the second half as a tremendous maul brought them close to the line before van Rhyn muscled over and a Ford penalty extended the advantage to 17-7.

Needing a foothold in the second half, Ford's high tackle gave Bristol rare field position and they found space on the right wing to send Moroni into the corner and bring them back within five points.

Bristol then won a penalty in midfield and from the line-out released Moroni again, and he almost made the line before Ma'asi-White conceded a penalty at the ruck and received a crucial yellow card.

A knock-on and then a missed line-out meant Sale survived, and it felt like it was their night before Bristol conjured their winning score in true fashion.

Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam told BBC Radio Bristol:

"I'm so proud. When you consider what we're going through with injuries, people think it's over but the others have stepped up.

"There's so many shared experiences that we're growing with on and off the field and it's holding us in great stead.

"I said, 'Let's treat this like a final,' because we knew we win this game and we're top of the table, so let's go for it, and that was finals rugby."

Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson said:

"It's a tough one to take as we turned up with the right mentality and we were executing our game plan well.

"However, we let them out of their half too easily and that resulted in swings of 60-70 metres, and although we defended well, they were repeatedly knocking at our door and eventually it had to give way.

"Losing players to injury and enforced rest periods for some others upset our cohesion and that proved costly in the last 10 minutes, especially after the yellow card."

Bristol: Rees-Zammit, Boshoff, Janse van Rensburg, Williams, Ravouvou; Jordan, Randall; Genge, Oghre, Chawatama, Rubiolo, Owen, Grondona, Harding (c), Mata.

Replacements: Thacker, Lahiff, Kloska, Taylor, Grondona, Marmion, Worsley, Heward.

Sale: Carpenter, O'Flaherty, du Preez, Ma'asi-White, Wills; Ford, Quirke; Rodd, Cowan-Dickie, Harper, Bamber, van Rhyn (c), Vermeulen, Dugdale, T Curry.

Replacements: Jibulu, McIntyre, Bell, Burrow, Gilmore, Warr, Louw, Wehr.

Yellow Card: Ma'asi-White.

Referee: Joe James.