Reigning champions Bath showed their class to beat Sale 31-26 with a bonus-point victory in an entertaining Gallagher Premiership encounter at the CorpAcq Stadium.
Alex Sanderson’s hosts scored four tries through Tom O’Flaherty, Rob du Preez, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Tom Roebuck, with George Ford claiming three conversions.
But an under-strength Bath side ran in five tries from Dan Frost, Louie Hennessey, Ethan Staddon, Bernard van der Linde and Alfie Barbeary to edge the win, with Santi Carreras converting three of them.
Sale were missing twins Tom and Ben Curry through injury but Bevan Rodd, Ford, Roebuck and Cowan-Dickie returned after playing their part in England’s Six Nations campaign.
They were all named in the Sharks’ starting line-up while Nathan Jibulu was deployed in the unfamiliar openside flanker position and du Preez played outside centre after filling in at fly-half in Ford’s absence.
Bath produced a stunning performance in last Friday’s 62-15 win over Saracens at The Rec but rested Finn Russell and some of their other big names for the trip north.
That decision by Johann van Graan was taken with next Saturday’s reunion with Sarries in the last 16 of the Investec Champions Cup in mind. However, the visitors were still able to name 11 internationals in their matchday 23, with their bench particularly strong.
Bath enjoyed the early territory on a rain-soaked pitch and led when Frost dived over from close range for a try which Carreras converted.
Visiting winger Joe Cokanasiga was sin-binned in the 26th minute for deliberately knocking on Joe Carpenter’s pass and Sale soon scored when Du Preez’s long pass sent O’Flaherty over in the corner.
Ford converted to level the scores at 7-7 and in the 32nd minute Sale had a second when Du Preez dived over from close range.
Ford’s second successful conversion edged Sanderson’s men 14-7 ahead and Bath lost Frost to a yellow card for his team being persistently offside.
Sale punished them again, with Cowan-Dickie forcing his way over for his 44th Premiership career try and, although Ford failed to convert, the hosts went in at half-time with a 19-7 advantage.
Five minutes after the interval, and with Frost still in the sin-bin, Bath scored their second when Hennessey went over from a line-out and Carreras converted.
In the 50th minute, Staddon had Bath’s third try when he went over from close range after good work from Hennessey in the right corner.
Carreras missed the conversion to leave the scores finely poised at 19-19 but as the hour mark approached, Roebuck crossed in the right corner and Ford converted.
Bath scored again in the 62nd minute when replacement hooker Kepu Tuipulotu hacked downfield for to race clear to score for a try which Carreras converted to make it 26-26.
With nine minutes remaining, Barbeary scored to edge Bath back in front and they held on for the win which lifted them to within a point of leaders Northampton.
