Sale Sharks 23-32 Bath: Sale Player ratings as Sharks handed first home defeat of season
01/28/2025 05:03 AM
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.
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 jinked 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, after Rob du Preez snuck around a ruck just before the half-hour mark.
It was a dominant second half for the visitors who took the lead just after half time with Max Ojomoh a try just before the 55-minute mark.
Sale stayed within arms 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 ruck infringement, Tom Carr-Smith sped down the wing past last man Ernst van Rhyn to dot down and effectively finish the game.
There was a bit of jeopardy when Joe Carpenter powered over the line with around a minute left but a Finn Russell penalty at the death confirmed the points as going back to the south-west.
Sale Sharks: 23
TRIES: Arron Reed 18' Rob du Preez 28' Joe Carpenter 79'
CONVERSIONS: Rob du Preez 80'
PENALTIES: Rob du Preez 24' 38'
DROP GOALS:
YELLOW CARDS:
RED CARDS:
Starting XV:
15. Joe Carpenter 14. Tom O'Flaherty 13. Will Addison 12. Rekeiti Ma'asi-White 11. Arron Reed 10. Rob du Preez (c) 9. Gus Warr; 1. Si McIntyre 2. Ethan Caine 3. WillGriff John 4. Ernst van Rhyn 5. Hyron Andrews 6. Jean-Luc du Preez 7. Sam Dugdale 8. Dan du Preez
Replacements: 16. Tadgh McElroy 17. Tumy Onasanya 18. Tye Raymont 19. Jonny Hill 20. Ben Bamber 21. Nye Thomas 22. Alex Wills 23. Sam Bedlow
Bath: 32
TRIES: Ruaridh McConnochie 25' 40+2' Max Ojomoh 46' 54' Tom Carr-Smith 74'
CONVERSIONS: Finn Russell 40+3' 47' 55'
PENALTIES: Finn Russell 62' 80+2
DROP GOALS:
YELLOW CARDS:
RED CARDS:
Starting XV:
15. Tom de Glanville 14. Joe Cokanasiga 13. Max Ojomoh 12. Will Butt 11. Ruaridh McConnochie 10. Finn Russell 9. Louis Schreuder; 1. Beno Obano 2. Niall Annett 3. Thomas du Toit 4. Quinn Roux 5. Charlie Ewels (c) 6. Josh Bayliss 7. Miles Reid 8. Alfie Barbeary
Replacements: 16. Kepu Tuipulotu 17. Francois van Wyk 18. Vilikesa Sela 19. Ross Molony 20. Ewan Richards 21. Tom Carr-Smith 22. Orlando Bailey 23. Jaco Coetzee
SALE SHARKS PLAYER RATINGS
15. Joe Carpenter 7.5
Plenty of trademark takes from the high ball, with his only missed one resulting in a penalty for his side only seconds later so didn't have too much of a negative impact. Good running, especially for the last try of the game which gave Sale some hope, where he stepped past a couple of bodies and powerfully finished with a dive in similar fashion to a forward.
14. Tom O'Flaherty 6.5
Most of the play in the first half came down the second half, positioning was good throughout and came from deeper with some direct runs as the game wore on. Had a bit of an embarrassing moment when he tried to see a box kick out of play but it bounced unfortunately, and Bath retained possession as a result.
13. Will Addison 6
Not the best game with a couple of wayward passes and knock-ons. Was not involved a whole lot and didn't take his chance when he had the ball.
12. Rekeiti Ma'asi-White 6
Did not see a whole lot of the ball and missed a couple of tackles alongside a couple of well-connected ones. Looks to be a good runner with the ball but just didn't see enough of it to make a difference.
11. Arron Reed 6.5
Got the first try of the game after dancing past a couple of bodies to finish well in the corner. Some good high ball takes under pressure but unfortunately his game will be defined by the game-defining moment he caused. Reed ran free very well and had a three v one situation with a relatively simple pass to play out wide, but it was intercepted and Bath countered to give them a 13-point lead going into the final minutes.
10. Rob du Preez (c) 6.5
A lot of involvement, some good, some bad. Started off shakily with a missed conversion and a simple penalty missed but the wind played a part with the quality of kicking in general. Missed a tackle for one of McConnochie’s tries and missed touch on one occasion from a pen. But nailed a few penalties and a conversion right at the end to put the pressure on.
9. Gus Warr – 6
Didn't release the ball quick enough at the breakdown at times and in general showed a bit of a lack of game intelligence overall. Did not have a very good game in his 100th appearance but no real mistakes of note.
1. Si McIntyre – 7
Helped Premiership newcomer Tye Raymont through the game well and was solid in the scrum alongside his inexperienced partner. Alleviated all fears of a Bath domination after WillGriff John's injury and given the quality of the opposing front row deserves a lot of credit. Had some solid carries and looked for the ball in hand a lot. Came off with 10 minutes to go to a standing ovation.
2. Ethan Caine – 6.5
It was never going to be easy replacing Luke Cowan-Dickie, but Caine did a good enough job of it, but naturally lacked the same amount of quality that the England hooker has. Strong with the ball in hand and was good but unremarkable from the line-outs, with one hugely wayward throw in his only blemish.
3. WillGriff John – N/A
Only played for the first 25 or so before coming off with an injury. Spent a significant enough time on the pitch but due to the nature of the game didn't have a huge amount of involvement so harsh to rate him as the game was still in it's infancy. Hopefully isn't too serious of an injury with the Six Nations arounf the corner but the silver lining is that it gave Tye Raymont his Premiership debut.
4. Ernst van Rhyn – 7
A couple of nice/ scruffy takes from the lineout and was strong when called upon, which wasn't very often. Put in a shift and there was plenty of effort and energy, with some substance. Tried his absolute hardest to catch up with Tom Carr-Smith and very nearly got there to stop the game-winning try, which was no fault of his at all.
5. Hyron Andrews – 7
A lot of involvement in his spell which ended just into the second half. Sale looked much weaker from the lineout once he came off, which is testament to how well he played. Forced a couple of turnovers and had some strong hits on Bath players. Overall had a good game.
6. Jean-Luc du Preez – 6.5
A lot of carries and some huge hits. Absolutely nailed Bath a couple of times, especially on one instance within five yards of the opposition try line. Positive performance.
7. Sam Dugdale – 6
Got himself about and had a couple of good hits, but overall was ineffective, especially in the second half. Was very static from the line-out which hindered Sale's set-pieces, again especially in the second period. Not his best game and will have been disappointed to not give a bit more of a selection headache to his head coach.
8. Dan du Preez – 6
Powerful as always and put in a lot of effort, saw the ball quite a bit with some good carries that gained good yards. Ball movement wasn't always the quickest but hard to criticise an eight for that. Some good tackles in there but no huge hits of note.
Replacements – 6.5
Special shout-out for Tye Raymont who competed with a mega Bath front row in his first Premiership start. Apart from Tye, the replacement pack had a relatively small impact on the game and made it a bit more sluggish, which could have suited Sale but ended up being to their detriment.
The post Sale Sharks 23-32 Bath: Sale Player ratings as Sharks handed first home defeat of season appeared first on Ruck.
