Ford boots Sale to victory over Bath
PREMIERSHIP FRIDAY WRAP: George Ford kicked a late penalty as Sale beat Bath 11-9 on Friday to extend their lead at the top of the English Premiership to five points.
The England international landed a mid-range penalty with just seven minutes to go as the Sharks eventually broke down a stubborn Bath team to secure their sixth win of the season.
Sharks' Jonny Hill scored the only try of a tight game at Salford Stadium but three penalties from Finn Russell looked likely to nick the points for Bath in an attritional affair.
The visitors' defence almost did enough to earn what would have been a fine away win before Ford stepped up to clinch a Sale win.
Elsewhere on Friday, wing Ollie Sleightholme put his long-term injury troubles behind him by scoring two tries in Northampton's 36-33 victory over Harlequins at Franklin's Gardens.
The clash between two of the Premiership's most attack-minded teams lived up to its billing, with both scoring five tries, but it was Saints who came out on top.
The scores and scorers:
Sale Sharks 11-9 Bath
The scorers:
For Sale Sharks:
Try: Hill
Pens: Ford 2
For Bath:
Pens: Russell 3
Teams:
Sale Sharks: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Rob du Preez, 12 Sam Bedlow, 11 Arron Reed, 10 George Ford, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Dan du Preez, 7 Ben Curry (captain), 6 Ernst van Rhyn, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Bevan Rodd.
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Si McIntyre, 18 James Harper, 19 Josh Beaumont, 20 Sam Dugdale, 21 Nye Thomas, 22 Sam James, 23 Tom O’Flaherty.
Bath: 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Ruaridh McConnochie, 13 Max Ojomoh, 12 Will Butt, 11 Matt Gallagher, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Jaco Coetzee, 7 Chris Cloete, 6 Ewan Richards, 5 GJ van Velze (captain), 4 Josh McNally, 3 Johannes Jonker, 2 Niall Annett, 1 Thomas du Toit.
Replacements: 16 Tom Dunn, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Fergus Lee-Warner, 20 Nahum Merigan, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Cameron Redpath.
Referee: Karl Dickson
Assistant Referees: George Selwood, Jamie Leahy
TMO: David Rose
Northampton Saints 36-33 Harlequins
The scorers:
For Northampton:
Tries: Sleightholme 2, Ludlam, Mitchell, Coles
Cons: Furbank 4
Pens: Furbank
For Harlequins:
Tries: Murley, Walker, Hammond, Evans, Jibulu
Cons: Smith 4
Teams:
Northampton Saints: 15 George Hendy, 14 Ollie Sleightholme, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 James Ramm, 10 George Furbank, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Lewis Ludlam (captain), 7 Tom Pearson, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Alex Coles, 4 Chunya Munga, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 Sam Matavesi, 1 Ethan Waller.
Replacements: 16 Tom Cruse, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Tom Lockett, 20 Angus Scott-Young, 21 Tom James, 22 Charlie Savala, 23 Tom Litchfield.
Harlequins: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Cadan Murley, 13 Will Joseph, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Louis Lynagh, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Alex Dombrandt (captain), 7 Will Evans, 6 Dino Lamb, 5 George Hammond, 4 Irne Herbst, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Fin Baxter.
Replacements: 16 Nathan Jibulu, 17 Santiago Garcia Botta, 18 Lovejoy Chawatama, 19 Chandler Cunningham-South, 20 James Chisholm, 21 Will Porter, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Oscar Beard.
Referee: Sara Cox
Assistant Referees: Andrew Jackson, Anthony Woodthorpe
TMO: Ian Tempest