Louie Hennessey scored a try on his 22nd birthday as Bath Rugby recovered from a 12-point interval deficit to beat Sale Sharks on Sunday 29th March and close the gap on Gallagher PREM leaders Northampton Saints.
Bath Rugby are only a point behind Gallagher PREM leaders Northampton Saints as they go into their Investec Champions Cup Round of 16 tie with Saracens here at The Rec on Saturday 4th April | Photo © Richard Briggs
The Blue, Black & White prevailed 31-26 in a nail-biter at the CorpAcq Stadium and earned five points, the Saints having picked up only four points the previous evening when they overcame Saracens 21-17.
That means second-placed Bath trail the Midlanders by just one point after 12 of the 18 rounds of matches.
Johann van Graan’s team had 56% of the possession and 58% of the territory, made 11 entries into the Sale 22 and gained 273 metres in attack.
The Sharks got into Bath’s 22 on eight occasions and made 238 metres in attack – but Alex Sanderson’s men held sway in the first half and were still in front, albeit by only seven points, with 17 minutes to go.
Still, Bath took the lead when Dan Frost touched down to the right of the posts from close range in the 19th minute following a pass by Tom Carr-Smith. Santi Carreras converted.
But that was as good as it got in the opening period for the visitors.
Joe Cokanasiga was sin-binned in the 26th minute for a deliberate knock on and the Sharks tied the game shortly afterwards.
In the 27th minute, Tom O’Flaherty scored in the left corner after a lofted pass from Rob du Preez found him in lots of space. George Ford added the extras.
And in the 31st minute, the Salford outfit added their second try, du Preez grounding the ball on the left and Ford again obliging from the tee.
The offside Frost was yellow-carded in the 38th minute and Sale took advantage to cross again before half-time. Luke Cowan-Dickie was the scorer from a rolling maul on the left but Ford’s conversion attempt sailed wide.
Bath cut the deficit to five points when Hennessey stretched to take a pass from Carreras and touched down in the left corner in the 45th minute and the fly-half majored.
And, still a man down, the Blue, Black & White notched their third try when Ethan Staddon forced his way over from short range on the right in the 50th minute from a tap penalty by Carreras. That levelled the scores at 19-19, the Argentina star sending his conversion attempt wide.
However, the Sharks regained the initiative when Tom Roebuck received a pass from Raffi Quirke and ran in from five metres on the right in the 59th minute. Ford slotted the two points.
But in the 63rd minute, Bernard van der Linde picked up a chip from Kepu Tuipulotu and went on a 25-metre dash, side-stepping a defender in the process, to score by the posts to bag Bath’s four-try bonus point. Carreras converted to see the game level at 26-26.
Then, in the 72nd minute, Alfie Barbeary picked up the ball a metre out on the left and dived over for the decisive score. Carreras’ conversion attempt went wide.
Van Graan, Bath’s head of rugby, said: “Early in the game, we fought against the wind.
“We had quite a lot to deal with – the two yellow cards and something uncommon, a goal-line kick goes out on the full. But we just stuck together, and a really good squad performance.
“The squad keeps on delivering. Twelve changes and got five points at a very tough place.
“I thought Sale played really well. George [Ford] was fantastic, their ball carriers were fantastic, but a really good day for us.
“Kepu Tuipulotu is still developing. He’ll turn out to be a special player.
“Bernard van der Linde came on and made a real difference at 9.
“I thought Tom Carr-Smith, as a starter, managed this game really well.
“That’s why it’s about the squad. It’s not about a player or a group of players, it’s about the squad.”
Sanderson, the Sharks’ director of rugby, said: “I’m crestfallen. I’m gutted for the amount of effort that the lads put in.”
Bath starting XV: 1 Scott Kirk, 2 Dan Frost, 3 Vilikesa Sela, 4 Will Jeanes, 5 Ross Molony, 6 Ted Hill, 7 Ethan Staddon, 8 Miles Reid, 9 Tom Carr-Smith, 10 Santi Carreras, 11 Will Muir, 12 Cameron Redpath, 13 Louie Hennessey, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 15 Tom de Glanville.
Bath replacements: 16 Kepu Tuipulotu, 17 Beno Obano, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Ewan Richards, 21 Bernard van der Linde, 22 Chris Harris, 23 Alfie Barbeary.
Sale starting XV: 1 Bevan Rodd, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 James Harper, 4 Ernst van Rhyn, 5 Ben Bamber, 6 Sam Dugdale, 7 Nathan Jibulu, 8 Jacques Vermeulen, 9 Raffi Quirke, 10 George Ford, 11 Arron Reed, 12 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 13 Rob du Preez, 14 Tom Roebuck, 15 Joe Carpenter.
Sale replacements: 16 Ethan Caine, 17 Ralph McEachran, 18 Tye Raymont, 19 Dan du Preez, 20 Jos Gilmore, 21 Gus Warr, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Tom O’Flaherty.
The Blue, Black & White will now turn their attention to the Investec Champions Cup.
Saracens will visit The Rec on Saturday 4th April in the Round of 16 (3pm), the prize for the victors being a place in the quarter-finals.
