Radradra missed most of the first half of the season and they have suffered numerous injuries in key positions such as prop, full-back and scrum-half, necessitating a raft of short-term reinforcements since January.

But that does not excuse them all their profligacy; at a key moment on Friday, at 24-24, their execution and decision-making let them down, Sale were given easy points. Piutau, Radradra, Steven Luatua (who has also been out with a wrist injury), Harry Thacker, John Afoa and other key players were all available and started on the bench, a tactical gamble that required Bristol to keep the scoreline close in the first half.

Might the game have turned out differently had they started? We will never know. But I think Bristol’s lack of control is systemic, not personnel-related. They could not control Sale’s driving line-outs or scrummaging, so whoever started, Bristol would have found it difficult to control the tempo.

Sale had almost complete control in the first half thanks to their set-piece; driving line-outs and mauls. After Lood de Jager’s first try, Bristol also gave 10 easy points away at restarts – a try and a penalty. They are just lacking defensive discipline. They need to be far better without the ball.

There are simple things, too. The hang time on Rob du Preez’s restarts was about one second or more longer than Callum Sheedy’s. That is an extra five or 10 metres on the ground and gives your defenders more time to get to the receiver and put him under pressure. It was the same with the kicks from hand. Mind you, kicking is far easier when you are enjoying front-foot ball. Faf de Klerk was kicking out of an armchair from the base of rucks and scrums, whereas Harry Randall always seemed to be under pressure.

After Sale’s red card, Bristol had more parity up front, and they began to show how devastating they can be. When they are on the front foot, the pace at which they play finds defenders out and it was Sale who began to rush out and make poor decisions. But Bristol’s lack of defensive discipline still cost them. Akker van der Merwe peeled off the back of a driving maul to dot down just before the break. Then, trailing by 14 points, Bristol surrendered yet more points with the first play of the second half. Manu Tuilagi pounced on a loose ball, fed Jean Luc du Preez and Tom Roebuck dived over with just 12 seconds added to the clock.