(Reuters) -Bath held off a spirited comeback from Sale Sharks to claim a 31-23 win and earn a place in England’s Premiership final following a pulsating game at The Recreation Ground on Saturday that kept alive their hopes of a first title in 28 years.
Bath, who will meet Northampton Saints in the June 8 final at Twickenham, led 18-5 in the first half after tries from flanker Ted Hill and prop Beno Obano, but they needed replacement hooker Niall Annett’s late score to seal victory.
Sale were ahead by a point with 15 minutes remaining as flanker Ben Curry, hooker Tommy Taylor and wing Tom O’Flaherty scored tries either side of halftime, but in the final stages their discipline let them down and the home side seized the initiative again.
Bath have not been English champions since 1996, while Sale were denied a second successive Premiership final appearance having lost the decider to Saracens last year.
“Credit to Sale, they are brilliant team and put us under a lot of pressure,” Bath flyhalf Finn Russell told TNT Sports.
“It shows the character we have built. We have belief and back ourselves, we knew at some point we were going to get a chance and we did.
“There’s tough times always when the margins are small but the trust and belief we have built in the season showed itself today.”
There was a first appearance of the season in their final game for Sale and England flanker Tom Curry, who has recovered from a hip injury and made a big impact off the bench in front of the watching national team coach Steve Borthwick and ahead of a July tour of New Zealand.
Bath finished the Premiership season level on points with table-toppers Northampton as they displayed their continued improvement under coach Johann van Graan.
The first quarter of the game belonged to the hosts, before Sale roared back in the next 40 minutes, only to give up the advantage they had built in the closing stages.
It was a battle up front, with four of the five tries coming from forwards, and was settled by the boot of Scotland’s Russell who kicked 16 points, including a monster penalty from the halfway line.
(Reporting by Nick Said, editing by Ed Osmond)
Source Agencies
