Bath 42-24: Finn Russell kicks 17 points as five-try Bath go second

Finn Russell kicked 17 points as Bath beat Sale 42-24 to move up to second in the Premiership.

But a penalty and drop-goal from Russell broke the deadlock for Bath.

Tom Dunn’s score sealed the bonus point before Ollie Lawrence added a fifth try see Bath move above Saracens.

Sale remain eighth in the table and without a win in 2024, having now lost their last four Premiership games.

Bath came out flying and opened Sale up twice within the first few minutes, and although a wayward pass to Lawrence denied him a try, the second opportunity saw full-back Gallagher teed up perfectly to have a clear run over.

Sale grew into the game, winning the first penalty as Ford kicked them onto the board before they took the lead – albeit for a short-lived three minutes – as Tuilagi spun out of a tackle and ran over in the corner.

Russell and Tom Dunn then punched holes through the Sharks defence and Redpath’s one-handed over the top pass saw Cokanasiga swan-dive over the try-line.

Sale’s kick-chase, though, was repeatedly effective and after launching themselves up the pitch, winger Arron Reed collected a grubber from Gus Warr only to be held up following an excellent sprint back from Spencer as Bath kept their slender lead at the break.

They made a disastrousstart to the second half as Roebuck intercepted a Spencer pass as he took the ball from a scrum and had an easy run past Russell to the corner.

There remained little between the sides as the lead swung like a pendulum, with Ted Hill – on his return from injury after being out since October – off-loading to Cokanasiga, who scored his second to edge Bath back in front.

But when Lawrence was sent to the bin for a head-on-head collision, Sale capitalised and touched down through Dugdale from the resulting penalty to make it 24-24.

Bath refused to let the numerical disadvantage have a further impact on them and restored to XV, were the stronger side.

Winger Will Muir was denied a spectacular touchdown in the corner by Sale full-back Joe Carpenter, before Russell kicked a penalty and drop goal to open a six-point advantage.

Suddenly everything started falling Bath’s way as the coaches rang the replacements and Dunn powered over from a maul to earn the crucial bonus point and all-but secure the win.

Lawrence then had the sold-out Rec crowd on their feet with five minutes left on the clock as he capped off a steady bout of Bath pressure with their fifth try to tie-up the victory.

Bath: Gallagher, Cokanasiga, Lawrence, Redpath, Muir, Russell, Spencer (c); Obano, Dunn, Du Toit, Roux, Ewels, Hill, Underhill, Barbeary.

Replacements: Faiva, Schoeman, Griffin, Stooke, Reid, Schreuder, Bailey, Coetzee.

Sin-bin: Ollie Lawrence (56 mins)

Sale: Carpenter, Roebuck, R. Du Preez (c), Tuilagi, Reed, Ford, Warr; Rodd, Cowan-Dickie, Harper, Wiese, Beaumont, Van Rhyn, Dugdale, J.L Du Preez.

Replacements: Taylor, McIntyre, Opoku-Fordjour, Bamber, Andrews, Quirke, James, O’Flaherty.

Sin-bin: x

Referee: Adam Leal