By Charlie Elliott
Sale Sharks vs Bath
Bath showed their title credentials and handed Sale Sharks their first home defeat of the season with a gritty performance up north at the Salford Community Stadium.
Windy and rainy conditions didn’t help the game as a spectacle, and it wasn’t the prettiest throughout.
Home side Sharks started well and had a lead going into the half, but the losing finalists of last year showed why they are top of the Premiership with a convincingly strong second half which proved too much to defend against.
The first half ebbed and flowed between spells of pressure for each team, with hosts Sale giving as much as they got against the league leaders.
Alex Sanderson’s side opened the scoring with a nicely finished try by recent Scotland call-up Arron Reed, who jinxed through a couple of bodies in the corner.
Bath fought back and got themselves a couple of tries thanks to winger Ruaridh McConnochie, the second of which reduced the deficit right on the half to 16-12 to the Sharks.
His double came either side of a Rob du Preez try in which he snuck around a ruck just before the half-hour mark.
Second Half
Max Ojomoh put the visitors in a very strong position at the hour mark with a tidy try early in the second half, before the ever-reliable Finn Russell put the visitors six points ahead with a simple kick from the tee.
Sale stayed within arm’s length, but the moment of the match came when Arron Reed broke free with ten to go, needed to release the ball to Tom O’Flaherty but got blocked.
Amidst Sharks complaints surrounding a potential knock-on and infringement, Russell smartly quick-tapped and kicked down the line for Tom Carr-Smith to chase down the wing to put the game beyond doubt.
There was a bit of jeopardy when Joe Carpenter powered over the line with around a minute left to reduce the deficit to six but a Finn Russell penalty at the death took the points back to the south-west.
Bristol Bears vs Newcastle Falcons
Defence well and truly went out the window at Ashton Gate, as Bristol Bears came out on top in a thrilling match against Newcastle Falcons, winning 55-35.
Many would have expected the Bears to be dominant throughout, but the visitors went toe-to-toe and only petered out towards the end after a 66th-minute sin-bin for Alex Hearle.
Bristol flew out of the blocks early on, getting three unanswered tries before the clock had hit 18 minutes, thanks to a mix of poor defending and the trademark fast, flowing rugby that Pat Lam tries to play.
Starting Kalaveti Ravouvou on the wing seemed to pay off for Lam after he flew through to cross the whitewash for the third early score.
Anyone thinking that the game was done and dusted at this point was proved mightily wrong, as Falcons hit back with a couple of tries themselves.
Both scores came from forcing bodies over the line with physical ruck and maul play.
That would be how the half ended, with Bristol narrowly holding onto a 21-14 lead.
Second Half
Ravouvou was a go-go yet again to secure the bonus point for the Bears after being in the right place at the right time on the wing to quickly sprint through.
The comfortable lead would be short-lived, as yet again Newcastle showed their never-say-die attitude and scored a huge try to get back within seven.
Max Clark blocked a box kick and managed to chase down the rebound to just about ground the ball before it bounced out of play.
A kick from the tee for Bears was quickly answered yet again by Steve Diamond’s side who scored their bonus-point try with some quick ball movement that was finished off by Ben Stevenson.
Alex Hearle’s yellow card in the 66th minute changed the game completely, as Pat Lam’s side turned it up a notch.
In the ten-minute spell that Hearle was off the pitch, they scored three unanswered tries to put the game to bed.
All three came from typical Lam-ball, quick ball movement.
As soon as it went back to 15 v 15, it slowly petered out, but there was enough time for both teams to add to their scoring with a late try each, bringing an absolute classic to a fitting end.
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