Bath 20-0 Sale Sharks: Defending champions leave visitors with nothing to talk about

Bath ………………..20pts

Tries: Frost 2, de Glanville 24, Green 34, Butt 69

Sale Sharks ……. 0pts

Reigning champions Bath got their title defence back on track with a dominant victory over Sale Sharks at The Rec.

Last season’s treble winners, led by former Bath and Exeter Chiefs fly-half Ryan Davis, named a 7:1 bench and shut their inexperienced visitors out.

The home side’s first team regulars Tom de Glanville, Will Butt and Dan Frost all managed to get themselves on the scoresheet.

Knowing defeat would all but end their chances of reaching the knockout stages, having won just one from their first three, Bath flew out of the blocks with tempo and intent.

Match action

After just three minutes, hooker Frost muscled over following sustained pressure from a scrappy but effective opening set.

Sale threatened to respond with a series of strong carries inside the Bath 22, but the hosts’ defensive organisation – led by back row Miles Reid and Frost, whose tackle-jackal earned a key turnover – repeatedly shut the door.

The Sharks appeared to have crossed when Alex Wills dived onto a loose ball after a spilled high kick, but referee Joe James ruled the score out for an infringement in the build-up.

Cameron Redpath sliced through midfield before sending de Glanville racing into the corner for Bath’s second score.

Momentum swung again when Bath lost a lineout, only for Ewan Richards to pinch back possession with an outstanding turnover.

Scrum-half Tom Carr-Smith tapped quickly and was dragged down inches short, but No.8 Arthur Green, right, powered over from close range for Bath’s third try.

Bang: Dan Frost scores for Bath
PICTURE: Getty Images

Second half

The second half, however, turned scrappy. Heavy rain intensified and both sides fell into long sequences of kick tennis, with neither able to create sustained attacking shape.

Sale dominated territory for the opening 20 minutes after the restart, camping deep in Bath’s 22, but again the home defence was exceptional.

A huge intervention from Reid, getting underneath the ball on the line, preserved the clean sheet.

Recognising the shift in momentum, Bath emptied their bench in one swoop, sending on their entire remaining forward contingent – Tom Dunn, Francois van Wyk, Billy Sela, Quinn Roux, Ross Molony and Ted Hill – to restore control of the breakdown and set-piece.

Yet still Sale held the ball, controlling possession but unable to turn pressure into points.

The decisive moment came on 69 minutes. Replacement scrum-half Neil le Roux spotted space in behind and threaded a superbly weighted kick into the right corner.

Centre Butt burst through, gathered at full pace and finished smartly to secure the bonus-point try.

Defensive grit

In the end, the visitors’ territorial dominance in the second period was rendered meaningless by the home side’s discipline, resolve and defensive grit.

The win keeps Bath firmly in the Pool A mix and restores momentum ahead of a critical block of Prem and Champions Cup fixtures.

For Sale, after last week’s emphatic win over Exeter, this was a frustrating afternoon where conditions and Bath’s defence proved insurmountable.

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