Things are progressing exceptionally well for Bath at this moment. Finally, their much-anticipated stadium redevelopment appears on the verge of starting, and on the field, the title holders have started with back-to-back wins after the initial two rounds. With the star fly-half scheduled to return in action next week to reclaim the number 10 role, it is demands a seriously good side to dethrone them.
On a wet and windy night in the West Country, even so, they were made to work extremely hard by a resilient Sale team who stuck in the fight and would not surrender. It was only with three minutes left that Max Ojomoh dove over to score his side’s bonus point try to preserve his squad’s unbeaten record to the season.
This was Sale’s fourth straight defeat on their opponents’ ground and the manner of it was largely familiar to previous matches. The home side specializes in wearing down opponents in the closing stages of games, and here was yet another instance of it. The hosts might have simplified matters for themselves had they chosen to take an earlier penalty to widen the gap to eight points, but finally, the young center had the last say.
The attending England head coach Steve Borthwick had no shortage of other players to evaluate, with the powerful center and the rapid winger also looking eager to impress him. Sale’s Nathan Jibulu scored a second-half try and is evidently a young player on the rise, while the leadership and pinpoint boots of the unflappable George Ford stood out in testing conditions.
Ford’s performance was exceptional for the visitors despite the defeat.
It was one more wet and miserable matchday when a roof on the open temporary stand would have protected drenched spectators. Their admission can still be priced at a hundred pounds, but a reprieve is close at hand. After decades of arguing, official approval has been awarded for an 18,000-seat stadium, with the heritage body and the relevant official having approved the plan.
That now depends on Bath waiting for official documentation, which the club are confident will materialise within a short period. And as and when Bath do eventually possess their own riverside palace to complement their extraordinarily squad depth, life is going to become no easier for opposing teams.
It’s not as if Sale were in any frame of mind to be intimidated in a combative if slightly staccato first half. Bath were unlucky to lose their national team second-row the experienced player to a knee injury inside the opening stages, and the the visitors’ forwards also made some initial progress. It was Bath, though, who showed resilience and scored the game’s first try, just when Sale were applying pressure they were exposed down the left by Lawrence before the speedy Arundell whizzed around the defender to score his maiden Premiership try at home for his childhood club.
It was to be the story of the half: promising moments from Sale only for Bath to respond with devastating effectiveness. The game was still less than 30 minutes old when they scored again, the flanker bursting away off the back of a home lineout and setting up the inside center on his inner channel to cross with flair.
Luckily Sale still had the superb Ford to keep them in touch. The England fly-half had already converted a well-executed penalty and a opportunistic drop-goal when a Bath restart bounced straight to him on the halfway line. Having taken a moment to set himself, the fly-half executed another precise drop-goal to reduce the lead before Beno Obano, from near the line, claimed Bath’s third touchdown with Sale’s captain Ernst Van Rhyn serving a yellow card.
Mounting a comeback from a twelve-point deficit away from home would be a challenging endeavor anywhere, especially against a Bath team with a extra player and a deep reserves. It was a credit to Sale’s determination, then, when they worked Jibulu over from near the line just a few moments after the second-half kickoff to dispel any Bath overconfidence.
Usually that is the indication for Bath to increase the tempo, but this time the Sale side were ready. They made their own series of substitutions and, at 21-16, it needed a spectacular tackle from the flanker to contain the strong runs of Marius Louw. A massive hit by Tom Burrow also led to Ted Hill to leave the field prematurely, but where it mattered most, up on the scoreboard, Bath always find a way these days.
