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Bath are in the Premiership final for the first time in nine years, but they are not a team that makes life easy for their supporters. At times, Salle looked most likely on the sidelines to face Northampton at Twickenham on Saturday, only for a try six minutes from time from Niall Annett and 16 points from the boot of Finn Russell to keep them on the road to the promised land.
Perhaps it was the nerves associated with such a big event, but it wasn’t until the final few minutes that Bath fans were able to relax from a distance. It has been 28 years since their darlings were last crowned champions of England and the huge roar at the final whistle showed just what it meant to everyone associated with the club.
However, Sale can be proud of their efforts not only here but also over the last few weeks. They confounded expectations for a while and almost added another classic ambush to add to their growing collection until Bath finally seized the initiative when it mattered most and Annette’s score melted the mounting tension.
The onus will always be on Sale to find ways to pierce the palpable air of local confidence. Easier said than done, especially with Bath enjoying plenty of early possession and making some early tackles. The home side’s momentum was duly rewarded when Ted Hill collected a Ben Spencer chip and scored in the right corner after the tall winger and Russell made a good run in the build-up.
A respite materialized in the form of a charge and subsequent soft penalty against Bath, which allowed the Sharks to clear the corner and hit a shot from which Ben Currie secured his side’s first points of the afternoon and forced Bath to take a fresh keeper.
They duly did, Will Muir firing a low 50-22 past George Ford and Benno Obano, grabbing his side’s second try at the end of another rumble forward from close range. When a reversed head-to-head contact penalty on Sam Dugdale allowed Russell to extend the lead to 18-5, the warning signs were already flashing.
However, the Sharks maul enjoyed plenty of joy and Bath again had no answer when the visitors drove down the left and hit their hooker Tommy Taylor. Even without a couple of tight forwards, including Hyron Andrews, who failed a late fitness test, Sale were never going to lie down.
A fine conversion and another penalty from Ford duly brought the Sharks back to 18-15 at the interval, putting the ball back in their opponents’ half. When the two teams met at the same venue in the latter stages of the regular season, it was a last quarter strike from Bath which secured a 42-24 win after the scores were tied at 24-24 with 17 minutes remaining.
This time, however, Bath seemed to be waiting for something to happen and Sale, suddenly hitting back at the scrum, pulled it back to 18-18 with a second Ford penalty. Russell responded with a three-pointer of his own after Sale knocked down an offensive shot, but the tension was now real.
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The stakes went up another notch with Tom O’Flaherty’s 52n.d minute score after a noisy pass from Russell was too hot for Joe Cocanasiga to hold and Sale launched an immediate counter-attack from around the halfway line. Joe Carpenter’s chip found space and O’Flaherty was first to gather and score.
Would there be another twist? Of course there will be. After one of Sale’s two key players was substituted, referee Luke Pearce began to award Bath once again and Russell slotted a fine angled penalty from 45 meters to put the hosts back in front. A long-range drop-goal attempt from Scotland missed its target, but Anett’s late strike ensured it didn’t matter.
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