Four-try Bath battle elements to beat Sale

The Prem.

Bath (21) 28

Cons: Spencer 4; Tries: Arundell, Redpath, Obano, Ojomoh

Sale (9) 16

On a miserablely wet and windy night at the Rec, Bath defeated Sale 28-16 to claim their second straight victory in the Prem.

As Bath opened an 11-point lead in the first half, Henry Arundell, Cameron Redpath, and Beno Obano all crossed for the hosts.

Before the Sharks scored their first try through Nathan Jibulu shortly after the break to close the five-point gap, an impressive George Ford scored 11 points, including two drop-goals, to keep Sale in touch.

Playing the conditions as much as the opposition was crucial for both sides as the night progressed, with swirling wind and increased rain.

As Sale began with the wind in their path, Ford excelled from the boot and kicked a pin-point penalty in the third minute when Bath were penalized for the breakdown.

However, Bath were at their most brutal when they had the ball in hand and scored with a thrilling Arundell try, his third of the summer.

Arundell skipped, accelerated, and then ran into the corner under the watchful eye of England head coach Steve Borthwick as the winger, Ollie Lawrence, collected a Sale kick, and raced from his own half with the winger on his shoulder.

When Sale were forced back in the attack, Ford’s quick thinking eventually closed the gap.

The England fly-half opportunistically scooped up the ball, took a step inside the halfway line, and sweetly landed a second drop-goal to make it 14-9 as a second Ford penalty bounced off the sticks, but Bath’s clearance came right back to him.

However, as Lawrence was centimeters from scoring, Sale captain Ernst van Rhyn was flagged yellow six minutes before the break for a cynical foul, and Obano headed over for Bath’s third.

Seven minutes after the restart, Sale’s only try was scored by Hooker Jibulu, who blasted over from close range. However, as the game progressed, Bath’s defense had to be rock solid to halt the run.

Replacements: Van Wyk, Frost, Van Wyk, Griffin, Molony, Underhill, Carr-Smith, Butt, Barbeary, and others.

Sale: Carpenter, Roebuck, Bedlow, O’Flaherty, Ford, Warr, Rodd, Jibulu, Opoku-Fordjour, Bamber, Andrews, Van Rhyn (c), B. Curry, Dugdale, and R. du Preez.

Caine, McIntyre, John, Burrow, Woodman, Hanson, Reed, and Louw are the replacements.

Sin bin: Van Rhyn (34 mins), John (79 mins)