Bath were made to work and it was not until Max Ojomoh’s try two minutes from time that they put the game to bed as they recorded a 28-16 win over Sale Sharks.
It was a nervous display and Ojomoh scored the bonus-point try in the 78th minute.
But head of rugby Johann van Graan will be just as concerned at the injury toll with second rows Charlie Ewels and Quinn Roux, limping off to be followed by Ted Hill.
With Ojomoh still minding the number 10 shirt before Finn Russell’s expected return to action next week, it was down to Bath’s ever-reliable skipper Ben Spencer to steer his side home, converting all four tries and kicking nervelessly out-of-hand.
Sale struck first with a George Ford penalty after Bath failed to clear their lines from the kick-off.
When the ball squirted free just outside the Bath 22, Ollie Lawrence suddenly burst out of defence with Henry Arundell on his shoulder.
A one-handed offload sent the left wing away and he made the conversion fairly straightforward for Spencer to put Bath 7-3 ahead.
Ewels struggled on with a leg injury until being replaced by Ross Molony and there were anxious faces in the home coaches’ box when Roux went down in obvious pain from a knock to his knee.
After surviving a spell of sustained Bath pressure, the masterly Ford added a snap drop goal on 19 minutes. Spencer answered with a raking 60-metre kick upfield which earned a line-out inside the visitors 22 and a simple wrap-around move saw Tom Dunn put Cameron Redpath over unopposed, with Spencer adding the points.
Although Ford hit the post with a penalty downwind – Warr had to steady the ball for each kick – the fly-half landed yet another drop goal on 33 minutes. But with Ernst van Rhyn in the sinbin for a cynical penalty under his own posts, Beno Obano forced his way over for the third Bath try, again converted by Spencer to establish a 21-9 lead at the break.
Sale regrouped to score the first points of the second half, a close range touchdown by Nathan Jibulu, converted by Ford, to narrow the margin to five points. Meanwhile more rain swept in to make catching the ball a perilous business, especially in the line-out.
Van Graan was now on the touchline delivering instructions, but with Roux now off the field, his side was struggling to win useable possession and conceding too many penalties.
Bath spurned a kickable penalty for a tap but Sale’s defence held firm. The visitors even broke free, chasing a dangerous loose ball downfield but conceded a penalty for a shove off the ball.
After a missed penalty by Spencer, Ojomoh put the result beyond doubt by touching down his captain’s deft chip over the defence to secure the try bonus point.
PA
