[ad_1]
Bathroom moved a step closer to Premiership playoffs with a 28-17 win over the bottom Newcastle in Kingston Park. The away side secured an attacking bonus point in a rampant first half – Thomas du Toit, Ben Spencer, Joe Cocanasiga and Matt Gallagher all on target – with only Jamie Blemire’s brace giving their opponents a break.
Finn Russell, back from a groin injury, was imperious from the teenager, booting all four conversions to give his side a convincing 28-10 half-time lead. Sam Stewart’s try after the break was reward for a spirited performance from the home side who pulled the plug Bathroom from adding any points to their first-half haul – but there was no comeback for the crowd to enjoy and Bath moved second.
It took less than five minutes for the visitors to open the scoring, Du Toit picking up a loose ball and slotting in for his 11th try of the season. The onslaught continued, with the Falcons unable to stop the Yellow Tide early on. Spencer was next to score, taking the ball from a kick in the 13th minute and blasting his way through the posts, also surviving a TMO review.
The hosts should have reduced the deficit seven minutes later when Cameron Hutchison burst off the line to force a two-on-two situation, but his offload to Guy Pepper was sloppy and the chance was missed. They were punished in the 28th minute when Kokanasiga broke down the right wing – Russell nailing the tricky conversion to extend the lead to 21-0.
Blemire finally brought some cheer to the home faithful nine minutes before the break, but Bath’s bonus point was secured when Gallagher finished off a superb team move before Blemire doubled his tally from another strike with the final play of the half to give some The Falcons hope to enter the interval.
After a long spell of pressure, the hosts finally grabbed their third try through Stewart. Brett Conan added the extras for the first time of the night to cut the deficit to 11 points. But Newcastle’s lack of ruthlessness and their habit of chasing the game cost them in the end.
Sale boosted their chances of a playoff spot with a 31-22 bonus point win vs Leicester. Gus Warr, Tommy Taylor, Sam James and Tom O’Flaherty crossed for tries as last season’s runners-up made it four consecutive bonus-point wins.
Leicester took an early lead through a rare Dan Cole try and also crossed through Matt Scott in the first half, while England’s George Martin added a third just four minutes from time.
The Sharks, who started the weekend in sixth place, travel to Saracens on the final day of the league season next weekend, almost certainly needing another win to have any chance of a top-four finish. They move into third with teams around them still to play at the weekend.
The Tigers burst into an early lead when Cole crashed over the tryline to make it 5-0, but Sale turned things around in the 10th minute when Warr crossed the line from a five-yard shot.
after the promotion of the newsletter
Leicester had Ollie Hassell-Collins in the sin bin a minute later after a TMO review, before the referee waved a yellow card after a high check on Manu Tuilagi. Sale stretched their lead to nine in the 14th minute when Taylor crossed the try line in his 150th Sharks appearance after a well-orchestrated line before George Ford added the conversion.
An opportunistic interception by Scott down the middle allowed him to step in for Leicester’s second try and Handre Pollard’s conversion made it 14-12 in the 18th minute. In the 35th minute, long-serving James, in his final home game before leaving his boyhood club this summer, got Sale’s third try after some superb Sharks quick hands on the blindside before Ford added the conversion to make it 21- 12.
A half-time penalty by Tigers’ Jamie Shilcock just inside Sale’s half made it 21-15, but Sale secured the bonus point for a try five minutes after the break after sustained attacking pressure when O’Flaherty pounced on James’ shot. . Sale controlled the second half, extending their lead to 16 points just before the hour mark with a Ford penalty.
Charlie Clare received a second yellow for Leicester when panic gripped the Tigers defense in the 67th minute following an impressive counter from the length of the field led by Tuilagi in his final action at the AJ Bell Stadium for Sale. Martin scored Leicester’s third try in the 75th minute and Shilcock converted from a tight angle, a consolation for the visitors as Sale saw the game out.
The impressive win sets up a final clash between Sale and Saracens for a place in the Premiership play-offs.
[ad_2]
