Sale (17) 50
Tries: Roebuck, Carpenter 3, Raymont, Roe, Jibulu, Longstaff Cons: Lozowski 5
Bath (14) 28
Tries: Tuipulotu, Griffin, Spandler, Carr-Smith Cons: Donoghue 4
Sale Sharks got their Prem Rugby Cup campaign off to an emphatic start with a dominant performance as they beat Bath 50-28 in their opening Group A fixture at the CorpAcq Stadium.
In a clash between two previous winners of the tournament in its current format – Sale winning in 2019-20 and Bath in 2024-25 – the hosts were the ones who looked capable of adding a second.
Tom Roebuck got the Sharks off to a flier on three minutes, racing on to a Joe Carpenter kick into the corner to dab down, before Bath responded with two tries of their own to take an early 14-5 lead.
But a 16-minute hat-trick from Sale full back Carpenter, either side of the half-time break, kickstarted a run of seven unanswered tries for Sale, allowing them to regain the lead and then stretch clear.
Carpenter, who was excellent throughout, completed his hat-trick three minutes into the second period, before a short-range pick and go from Tye Raymont gave Sale a 31-14 lead.
A massive hit from Nathan Jibulu which turned the ball over deep in Sale territory then ignited a pitch-length counter attack finished by Xavier Roe with a brilliant assist from Carpenter.
Jibulu then got his name on the scoresheet after a lineout went wrong for Bath, before Alfie Longstaff put the match out of sight at 50-14 with ten minutes remaining.
Sale tired a little and took their foot off the gas in the final few minutes, allowing Jasper Spandler and Tom Carr-Smith to go over and add a thin layer of gloss to the scoreline.
But this was as convincing a display as possible from Sale, who will take their 100 per cent record to Gloucester next Saturday. Bath are not in Prem Cup action again until they host Bristol on 6 November.