WE’RE RED-DY
Alex delighted as Sharks bite back
SALE boss Alex Sanderson feels his side got what they deserved as they bullied Bath, despite having to do it the hard way.
Sale sit on top of the Premiership after two rounds and this was a championship performance when they were up against it with men missing.
Sharks prop Nick Schonert was red carded for a high shot on lock Dave Attwood after just nine minutes – but Sale stepped up to the mark.
They even went down to 13 men for 10 minutes in the second half at the Recreation Ground when replacement prop Ross Harrison was sin-binned in the middle of a goal-line stand.
Bath then hammered at the Sale line but could not score and Jono Ross secured the bonus point for the visitors. A delighted Sanderson said: “They didn’t kick stones which you can do after an event like that.
“They managed it well physically, played in the right areas and came alive in attack and showed the endeavour they have shown in the past few weeks.
“It is another performance worthy of all the work they have done in preseason, that is what I am most happy about, that is what I am chuffed about.
“They get some worth for how hard they worked and how tight they are.” Schonert’s red came as the game has launched yet another clampdown on high tackles – but Sanderson will review the incident.
He added: “I’ll look, if there are mitigating factors, maybe we will get him off a ban but as a tackler you have got to adjust. They are the laws, we’ve got to apply ourselves to them.”
Bath, bottom last year, looked lightweight up front, apart from in the scrum, and lost the arm wrestle.
Head of rugby Johann van Graan moaned: “Against that physicality we lost the physical battle hands down.
“I am very disappointed – it is not the performance I was looking for. Accuracy was not good enough today.”
Sale wing Tom O’Flaherty, who looks a top signing from Exeter, kicked off the scoring and hooker Akker van der Merwe bounced four defenders as if they were not there to make it 17-6.
Bath lost skipper Ben Spencer when he failed an HIA and trailed 23-6 at the break before Joe Cokanasiga got one back for the hosts.
Sale then threw on England’s Tom Curry for his opening appearance of the season and the flanker scored with his first touch and then won a vital turnover as Bath threatened.
Tom de Glanville nabbed a consolation score for Bath – but they were never at the races and back rower Ross made it four tries, a bonus point and two wins from two.