Bath have risen to second in the Premiership courtesy of a convincing victory over a below-par Sale Sharks beneath the Friday night lights. In front of a record home crowd of almost 14,000, Todd Blackadder’s side claimed their fifth victory in six games, pulling confidently away from the visitors thanks to second-half tries from Kahn Fotuali’i and Kane Palma-Newport.
It was a pretty one-sided encounter by the end, with the Sharks never able to gain a sustained grip up front or behind the scrum. With George Ford running the show and kicking 15 points and Matt Banahan also having an excellent game, a defensively tight Bath team bore little resemblance to the side blown apart by Leicester at Welford Road less than a fortnight ago.
Eddie Jones was in attendance along with all his three assistants Steve Borthwick, Paul Gustard and Neal Hatley, clearly hoping his England squad members Ford, Jonathan Joseph, Semesa Rokoduguni and Josh Beaumont would remain in one piece at the end of a bad week injury-wise.
Thankfully for club and country all survived intact, giving substance to the mischievous theory it is currently less risky playing in the Premiership than training with England. Bath still had enough firepower in the absence of the crocked Anthony Watson but Blackadder does not expect his England winger to return “for quite a while” following surgery to repair a fractured jaw. “It’s a serious one,” reported the director of rugby. “He’s eating through a straw so it can’t be good. I’m so disappointed for him… he’s absolutely gutted at the moment.”
Injuries have also disrupted Bath’s midfield this season but no one has responded more positively than Banahan, his side’s man of the match for the second successive weekend. Only two minutes had elapsed when Joseph made a half-break down the right and, from the next phase, his fellow centre hit a perfect angle to open the scoring.
Banahan does not always get sufficient credit for his versatility, with injury problems requiring him to fill the role of inside-centre between Joseph and Ford. He looks a better, more rounded player now than he did when he played for England and epitomises the fresh sense of purpose at Bath. Jones is generally a fan of centres who can get over the gainline without messing around, particularly in the continuing absence of Manu Tuilagi.
Sale could only hang on grimly and rely on Beaumont’s outstanding lineout work; the aerial contest between the England squad member and the omitted Dave Attwood was never less than close-fought. There was a bit of edge elsewhere, too; the opportunity to come south and ruffle the more genteel sections of the Rec always appeals to a side coached by Steve Diamond.
On this occasion, though, Sale’s tactical kicking game was not good enough to put consistent territorial pressure on their hosts. Will Addison, who has just signed a new three-year contract with the Sharks, did land a solitary first-half penalty but mostly it was a case of scrambling to stop Joseph and Banahan, as well as the lively Zach Mercer, from causing further damage.
Bath, unbeaten at the Rec since April Fool’s Day, should probably have been further ahead than 10-3 at the interval. On a still, mild evening – Jones was one of only a handful of people wearing a woolly hat – they were guilty of turning the ball over too often but Sale did not have the wit to take advantage. The third quarter was a similar story, the occasional Bath break-out usually foiled by a frustrating knock-on or turnover. Ford, always influential, kicked two further penalties while Addison was guilty of missing a relatively straightforward kick that might have given the Sharks a foothold. When the referee Tom Foley was inadvertently flattened by Sale’s giant Russian replacement Andrei Ostrikov, it was among the few telling blows the Sharks landed all evening.
Things were about to get even worse for the visitors, the ball falling from the grasp of Ross Harrison 30 metres out and allowing Fotuali’i to scamper over. With the Sharks increasingly at sixes and sevens, Palma-Newport surged over following a close-range lineout to end any faint prospect of Sale, rousing winners over Leicester last weekend, staging a comeback.
With seasoned internationals such as Taulupe Faletau, Luke Charteris and Rhys Priestland sitting in the stands, Bath’s Premiership campaign could scarcely have started any better. Sale, whose away form is nothing like as impressive as their record at home, will need to be a whole lot better when Europe kicks off next week.
Bath: Homer; Rokoduguni, Joseph (Willliams, 68), Banahan, Brew; Ford (co-capt) (Hastings, 74), Fotuali (Cook, 62); Catt (Auterac, 58), Dunn (Batty, 58), Thomas (Palma-Newport, 62), Stooke (G Mercer, 58), Attwood, Garvey (co-capt), Ellis (Ewels, 50), Mercer.
Tries: Banahan, Fotuali’i, Palma-Newport. Cons: Ford 3. Pens: Ford 3.
Sale Sharks: McGuigan (Haley, 50); Addison, James, Leota; Odogwu; MacGinty (Mugford, 63), Phillips (Mitchell, 60); Lewis-Roberts (Harrison, 50), Briggs (Pearce, 60), Mujati (Aulika, 50), Evans, Mills (Ostrikov, 58), Neild, Seymour (Lund, 58), Beaumont (capt).
Pen: Addison.
