Two sent off as Bath overpower Sale to go top

Gallagher Premiership

Bath (21) 40

Tries: Muir, Reid, Du Toit, Hill, Carr-Smith, Van Wyk Cons: Russell 5

Sale (6) 13

Tries: Addison Cons: R. Du Preez Pens: R. Du Preez 2

Bath went top of the Premiership with a six-try show of power against hapless Sale in a game that saw two red cards.

The Blue, Black and Whites were irresistible in the first half as Will Muir, Miles Reid and Thomas du Toit all crossed and the Sharks clung on through two Rob du Preez penalties.

The second half brought a bonus-point try from Ted Hill and then a dismissal apiece as Bath’s Will Butt saw red for a dangerous tackle on Le Roux Roets, and 10 minutes later Sale’s Nye Thomas followed after making head contact with Muir as he helped to prevent another score by the home side.

The brief man advantage buoyed Sale as they hit back through Will Addison but Tom Carr-Smith reacted to the visitors’ own dismissal with a killer fifth try, before Francois van Wyk added a late sixth.

The talk all week for Sale had been of redemption after they were thrashed 47-17 at Northampton last week, but the days when they regularly came away from The Rec with a result have gone, with their two previous meetings going to Bath.

Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson must have been having flashbacks to Franklin Gardens as his defence evaporated in Bath’s first attack, with Muir marking his return from injury with the joint-fastest try of the season after just 65 seconds.

Du Preez tried to steady the ship for the away side with a couple of penalties but Sale were leaking penalties and Bath were in ruthless mood.

The Bath pack battered holes in a ragged Sale rear guard and Reid forced his way over from close range, before Du Toit stormed through for another.

Sanderson reacted by hauling off prop James Harper after 30 torrid minutes in which he was pinged three times for collapsing the scrum.

The excellent Hill started the second half by bursting through two would-be Sale tacklers to score again, but the loss of Guy Pepper to injury and then Butt’s red card threatened to change the complexion of the game.

Sale suddenly found their feet and when Joe Carpenter slid a smart kick in behind the home defence, Addison did well to gather and touch down in the corner.

Muir’s superb interception prevented another Sale try and the winger then brought the challenge from Thomas that saw the number on the field evened up again.

Bath made sure of the win as Orlando Bailey brilliantly kept the ball alive to give Carr-Smith another try and Van Wyk finished it off by scoring for a second consecutive game.

Bath head coach Johann van Graan told BBC Radio Bristol:

“We got the week spot on after the high of winning that game at the death against Quins and a lot of our quality players going to England. We learned a few lessons from last season about how to approach this week.

“We got the emotional side spot on and tactically we were really, really good.

“That’s five [wins] out of six and we’re on 25 points so that’s a good return from the start of the season.

“It’s a group that’s hungry so I will work hard every week at getting their heads down.

[On the red cards]: “I don’t think anything was malicious. Karl is a very good referee and it’s where the game is at so we have to adapt accordingly.”

Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson said:

“We get a bit of time off for the lads who’ve been on the hamster wheel for the last six weeks, plus the warm-up games.

“We’ve come back strong in the past after these mini-breaks.

“We know what to put right – and we know we’re going to put it right – which is to be better defensively. You can’t shift 90-odd points in two weeks and want to compete right at the top level. You just can’t do it.

“So we’ve got four weeks now to do in-depth analysis into our systems and our mentality around what kind of team we want to be.

“Most importantly, we have to pull tight after a couple of big losses. The alternative is that you splinter but it’s not that kind of group."

Bath: De Glanville; Cokanasiga, Hennessey, Butt, Muir; Russell, Schreuder; Reid, Pepper, Hill, Molony, Roux, du Toit, Dunn, Obano.

Replacements: Annett, Van Wyk, Sela, Bayliss, Staddon, Carr-Smith, Bailey, Coetzee

Red card: Will Butt (51 mins)

Sale: Carpenter; Addison, James, Bedlow, Reed; R. du Preez, Warr; McIntyre, McElroy, Harper, Bamber, Andrews, van Rhyn, Dugdale, D. du Preez.

Replacements: Caine, Onasanya, Opoku-Fordjour, Roets, Beaumont, Thomas, Curtis, JL du Preez

Red card: Nye Thomas (61 mins)

Referee: Karl Dickson