Masterful Finn Russell marshalls Bath to captivating bonus-point victory over Sale Sharks

Bath closed the gap on Northampton Saints on top of the Premiership Rugby table as Finn Russell steered the side to a 44-24 victory over Sale Sharks at the Recreation Ground on Sunday.

Russell scored 17 points off the tee in a near-flawless kicking display, missing just one of his seven shots at goal. He also nailed his first Premiership drop goal and the first of his career – and he hit it with his weaker foot.

Man of the match Joe Cokanasiga crossed for two tries for Bath, with Matt Gallagher, Tom Dunn, and Ollie Lawrence grabbing scores in the bonus point victory as the hosts racked up their biggest-ever score against Sale.

The visitors battled hard throughout the match, and Manu Tuilagi grabbed one of their three tries, with Tom Roebuck and Sam Dugdale crossing the whitewash with George Ford adding nine points from the tee.

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Sale, trying to halt a run of six successive defeats in all competitions since Christmas, were level at 24-24 on the hour but faded in the last quarter.

Bath looked threatening from the off and took the lead through Matt Gallagher after just four minutes. Cameron Redpath latched on to an offload from Cokanasiga to send his full-back away, and Russell converted from wide out.

Sale sought a quick response and centre Rob Du Preez beat Gallagher to a lofted kick by George Ford but Bevan Rodd spilled a pass with the home defence stretched.

A Ford penalty after 10 minutes cut Bath’s lead to 7-3, and the game became more cagey as the scrum-halves repeatedly sent the ball skyward.

Sale took confidence, too, from a misfiring Bath line-out, and Du Preez became an increasingly influential presence in midfield.

He was twice involved in the probing attacks that led to an 18th-minute try for centre partner Manu Tuilagi, who left both Russell and Cokanasiga sprawling before ambling over the line.

The Bath pair made amends five minutes later, though, starting and finishing a neat sequence which saw Russell dummying through the Sale defensive line, finding support from Tom Dunn and Redpath, who offloaded to Cokanasiga to over for a converted try.

The visitors should have scored immediately as left-wing Arron Reed headed for the left corner, but Bath scrum-half Ben Spencer pulled off a seemingly impossible try-saving tackle to prevent the touchdown.

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Although the Sharks began to rack up penalties, their defence was strong enough to deny Bath further points before the break.

Sale then could not believe their luck just three minutes into the second half when Spencer passed into Tom Roebuck’s hands, leaving the right wing with a run-in to the corner, with Ford adding their conversion.

Bath responded with another try for Cokanasiga, galloping on to an inside pass from Ted Hill, and Russell’s conversion put Bath 24-17 ahead after 52 minutes, only to lose Ollie Lawrence to the sin-bin for head contact with Rob du Preez.

Sale immediately took advantage with a walk-in at the corner by flanker Sam Dugdale, also converted by Ford.

Russell maintained his 100 per cent kicking record with a penalty under the posts and then with a wobbly drop goal with his less-favoured left foot to ease Bath into a 30-24 lead.

A catch-and-drive try awarded to Dunn earned the try bonus point after 70 minutes, and Lawrence then added another, this time unconverted, as Bath wrapped up the win with a strong finish.

Bath v Sale Sharks

Bath: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Will Muir, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer (c), 8 Alfie Barbeary, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Elliott Stooke, 20 Miles Reid, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Jaco Coetzee

Sale: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom Roebuck 13 Rob du Preez (c), 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Arron Reed, 10 George Ford, 9 Gus Warr, 8 JL du Preez, 7 Sam Dugdale, 6 Ernst van Rhyn, 5 Josh Beaumont, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 James Harper, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Bevan Rodd
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Si McIntyre, 18 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 19 Ben Bamber, 20 Hyron Andrews, 21 Raffi Quirke, 22 Sam James, 23 Tom O’Flaherty

Venue: The Rec
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Adam Leal
Assistant referees: Greg MacDonald, Tom Foley
TMO: Dean Richards

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