Every point will count at the close of the Premier League season and on this evidence Bath will have Finn Russell to thank when their play-off totals are completed. The Scotland fly-half’s desire to compete for silverware was among his reasons for moving to the western country and he, along with Joe Cokanasiga, was among the key architects of a crucial win that lifted his side to second in the table.
A dominant final quarter from Bath’s forwards also resulted in Sale’s sixth successive defeat in all competitions, but Russell was credited with four of his side’s five tries, striking impressively from all angles and scoring the first drop goal for good measure. He finished most of his Premiership career with his weak left foot. A series of tries from Cokanasiga and England’s Ollie Lawrence also hammered home Bath’s overall superiority.
Relating to: TMO heard it did not review incident flagged by TV pundit Healey
Had Cokanasiga held on to Lawrence’s pass in the closing moments, when a hat-trick looked like a formality for the big winger, the lopsided final lead could have been even wider. But by then the Sharks had already retired on a beautiful clear Sunday afternoon on the banks of the River Avon, and Russell had withdrawn to prepare for the bigger tasks ahead.
While the home team’s victory is by no means guaranteed, with the scores tied at 24-24 with 17 minutes left in the game, Sale’s set-pieces are starting to fall apart and there is no one more expert than Russell at exploiting this advantage with the fast ball. Within 12 minutes Bath had racked up 18 unanswered points, including a tiny left-footed drop goal from Russell, to move to within two points of leaders Northampton with five regular season games to play.
Sale’s director of rugby, Alex Sanderson, quickly nailed it when he described Bath as a team that can now win games in a variety of ways. They can cut you off, frustrate teams with scrum-half Ben Spencer’s fine striking play, or accurately direct the first if necessary, as they have done with gusto on the two or three occasions when Russell has pulled a string of strings. If you put all three together and they can stay mentally calm, it makes them a potentially serious contender this year.
It wasn’t as if Sale were passive observers. Sometimes they made deliberate moves, and Manu Tuilagi showed why Bayonne would pay a hefty sum of euros to sign him next season, as he broke through from Russell’s tackle and burned the guard to put his side ahead in the first quarter. But this time the renewed Cokanasiga looked just as dangerous and had begun to beg after an earlier opportunity; The final charge from Russell, Tom Dunn and Cam Redpath took him back into the lead.
George Ford, who played straight to the line as he did in England, was also asking questions against his former club and Sale struck first after half-time when Tom Roebuck intercepted Spencer’s pass and cleared the ball. Despite losing Alfie Barbeary to a hamstring injury in the first half and losing Lawrence to a yellow card, Bath always looked capable of solving problems when necessary.
Following a masterful strike from Russell and support from Sam Underhill and the excellent Ted Hill, Cokanasiga struck his second – his 10th try in nine games – and despite Sam Dugdale’s reply for Sale, Bath managed to wrest control. Competition when it matters. With the Sharks’ set-piece and strike under pressure, Dunn was at the bottom of the pile to score a try bonus point before slotting Lawrence down the left after another fine throw, this time from Will Muir.
Bath’s director of rugby, Johann van Graan, was later at pains to emphasize that Russell was not the only weapon his side had at their disposal, but equally acknowledged that the Scot played a crucial role as the club looked to taste success both domestically and in football. Champions Cup. “He’s an incredible person with a very unique personality,” Van Graan said, suggesting Russell was quick to dismiss Scotland’s rollercoaster Six Nations campaign. “He has the ability to leave the past behind… He adapts immediately.”
Sanderson, the opposing party, was equally glowing in praise. “We reached out to him a few times today, but that’s the moment when you can’t reach him. The moment when you show-and-go like we did in the second half. You feel like you’re in a really good spot defensively and then you wonder, ‘Where did that come from?’ you think. “He has the X factor to make something happen out of nothing.”
Bath’s next week will be Harlequins, another potentially spectacular contest. Win this and Van Graan’s team will be in the mix indeed, followed by the Champions Cup round of 16 in Exeter. Van Graan said, “As a club, we are dreaming big,” and emphasized that his team wants to compete in every field. At this rate, they may yet achieve this.