Agonising finish for Faf de Klerk as Sale settle for draw at Bath
World Cup-winning scrum-half Faf de Klerk was inches away from snatching Gallagher Premiership victory for Sale as they drew 24-24 with Bath at the Recreation Ground. The visitors had mounted a storming second-half comeback after trailing 21-7 at half-time to the league’s bottom club and led 24-21 until Danny Cipriani kicked Bath level with three minutes to play. De Klerk had the chance to win it in the 83rd minute but his kick was narrowly wide.
Bath had a let-off almost straight from the kick-off when Rob du Preez’s penalty struck the nearside post. Within five minutes the home side found themselves a man down after number eight Nathan Hughes was sin-binned for a high tackle on left-wing Arron Reed.
Sale wasted no time in taking advantage as the pack drove almost to the Bath line from a line-out and quick passing allowed full-back Luke James to touch down under the posts. Rob Du Preez kicked the conversion with nine minutes gone.
The visitors also threatened from deep, but Bath’s fortunes improved when Hughes returned to add ballast to the scrum and go-forward in the loose. The former England number eight thought he had scored at the other end after Will Muir, Ben Spencer and hooker Jacques du Toit opened up the Sale defence.
The officials ruled otherwise, but the disappointment was quickly forgotten as Hughes picked up from a scrum and Sam Underhill burrowed through to the line, with Cipriani converting. There was no stopping the Hughes-Underhill combination now, and a second try followed for the England flanker, also converted by Cipriani, as Bath took a 14-7 lead after 26 minutes.
With Cipriani showing his best form so far for Bath, opportunities were opening up from all over the field and Sale flanker Ben Curry was shown a yellow card for his team’s persistent infringement in and around their 22. Bath’s third try came just before the break as Sale buckled under the pressure, Cipriani combining with Jonathan Joseph before putting Tom de Glanville over for the try. The fly-half’s conversion made it 21-7 at half-time.
Sale came out for the second half a transformed side, and Bath saw nothing of the ball in the third quarter. Relentless chasing of a long, rolling kick forced a five-metre scrum from which lock Jean-Luc du Preez claimed an unconverted try in the 52nd minute.
Dan du Preez was quickly on to an overthrown ball at a Bath line-out on the hour and there was no defender on the blindside to stop centre Rohan Janse Van Rensburg crossing for another try. When hooker Ewan Ashman finished off an unstoppable Sale forward drive and De Klerk added the conversion to put his side 21-24 ahead, it seemed Bath had blown it again.
But a desperate surge out of defence forced a penalty which Cipriani gratefully knocked over to draw his side level. There was still time for Sale to battle their way upfield to set up De Klerk’s final penalty opportunity but he could not make the most of it.
Comments on RugbyPass
Jordie is looking at 16 games maximum if Leinster reach both the URC and champions cup finals. Thats not guaranteed. Some of those home URC fixtures will be cakewalks as well for Leinster and there is not much doing during the 6 nations in Feb and March so he can probably get a decent rest then. He will have to really put in it for maybe 7 or 8 games max. It should be a good move for both.
13 Go to commentsThe game was a quarter final, not a semi final. Barrett will be here for 6 months, he is no one's replacement at 13. That mantle will most likely ultimately go to Jamie Osborne, though Garry Ringrose has at least 4 more years in him. The long term problem position (in the next 3 years) for Leinster is tighthead prop, though there are a couple of prospects at schools level.
21 Go to commentsSo much for all that hype surrounding the ‘revival’ of Aussie rugby. The Blues were without the likes of regular starters Perofeta, Sullivan, Christie etc… This was a capitulation of the highest order by Australia’s finest. Joe Schmidt definitely has his work cut out for him.
2 Go to commentsYes they can ignore Sotutu. Like Akira Ioane plays OK at Super level but gets lost in tests. Too many chances too many failures.
2 Go to commentsA wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
13 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
13 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
5 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
25 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
5 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
38 Go to comments