Bath revive play-off ambitions as Sale rue referee’s crucial decision
There had been rumblings around English rugby that Bath could struggle this season after they found themselves at the wrong end of the Gallagher Premiership by the end of November.
But two victories in a week, having demolished London Irish before Christmas, have lifted the former league giants up the table to where they want to be: challenging for the play-offs. They beat Sale Sharks in a thriller by just two points, yet, while Sharks director of rugby Steve Diamond thought it was a great contest, he believed his side could have had a shot at goal to secure a win.
England flanker Tom Curry, believed Diamond, was the victim of a no-arms tackle from Bath hooker Tom Dunn with six minutes left and his side trailing by just two points.
Diamond said: “There was a crucial decision which decided the game. Tom Curry, who is a world-class player, has had a no-arms tackle, but I need to have a look at that.
“Those decisions are really crucial. The wins and losses are decided on that one decision.
“But he is a good referee and if he has got that right, then I will take my cap off to him.”
Diamond’s opposite number at Bath, Stuart Hooper, though, said: “It was the right decision.”
And to put back-to-back victories together pleased Hooper. He added: “I think it was what we deserved. We deserved to win both games.
“They were different games but that is the Premiership in that, last week, we can score six tries and open up a bit and here we play a physical defence and have to find different ways to win the game.”
It was reunion day for the boys who helped Bath lift the league title six times during their glory days of the late Eighties and mid-Nineties. And, as the encounters between Bath and Sale used to be when the Sharks were first promoted to the highest division of English rugby, this match was a thumping affair that went right to the wire.
Fuelled by the Irish victory, Bath roared in the opening half, with Welsh No 8 Taulupe Faletau, out since the summer with a collarbone injury, looking like he had never been away.
They had Sale on the back foot for the majority of the period, with Wales fly-half Rhys Priestland punishing the visitors twice for errors within kickable range.
But Bath could not add to those two penalties as Sale kept their defensive discipline and, guided by South African scrum-half Faf De Klerk, the Sharks found their bite for a while.
A 6-0 lead at the interval was soon 13-0 as Bath executed a sublime move down the left. Full-back Tom Homer retrieved a chip ahead just into Sale territory and, from a ruck, the ball found Jonathan Joseph. The centre passed inside to Priestland, who made a diagonal run to the corner before putting it back to Joseph for a run-in, with the Bath fly-half adding the extras.
Yet Sale, in the blink of an eye, turned the game on its head.
Two tries converted by Du Preez put them a point ahead before the hour.
Sale had a line-out five metres out and a rumbling maul led to hooker Akker van der Merwe diving around the side to touch down.
And, shortly afterwards, the Sharks swung the ball wide to the left for their fly-half to send in wing Byron McGuigan unopposed.
Nine minutes from time a Sale error 42 metres out enabled Priestland to land what turned out to be the winner.
Sale went for glory with a penalty kick to the corner when they should really have looked to Du Preez again.
And then there was the late Curry incident. Diamond’s luck was rather rough but, for Hooper and his team, wins are the order of the day as they go searching for the Premiership title. Scores 3-0 Priestland pen, 6-0 Priestland pen, 13-0 Joseph try, Priestland con, 13-7 Van der Merwe try, Du Preez con, 13-14 McGuigan try, Du Preez con, 16-14 Priestland pen. Bath T Homer; S Rokoduguni, J Joseph, J Roberts, A Watson; R Priestland, W Chudley (C Cook 47); B Obano (L Boyce 76), T Dunn (J Walker 76), W Stuart (C Judge 75), J McNally (M Garvey 71), E Stooke, T Ellis (J Bayliss 64), F Louw, T Faletau. Sale C Ashton; D Solomona, RJ Van Rensburg; B McGuigan, R du Preez (AJ MacGinty 75), F De Klerk, C Oosthuizen (R Harrison 52), A Van der Merwe (R Webber 63), WG John (J Cooper-Woolley 51), B Evans, J Phillips (J-L Du Preez 52), J Ross, T Curry, D Du Preez (B Curry 56). Referee Craig Maxwell-Keys.