Bath beat Sale in thriller to reach Premiership final

Gallagher Premiership semi-final

Bath: (18) 31

Tries: Hill, Obano, Annett Pens: Russell 4 Cons: Russell 2

Sale: (15) 23

Tries: B Curry, Taylor, O'Flaherty Pens: Ford 2 Cons: Ford

Bath hit Sale successful an enthralling semi-final to group up a Premiership last against Northampton Saints.

Replacement Niall Annett’s 73rd-minute effort sealed a melodramatic triumph to nonstop Bath to their first last for 9 years.

The Somerset nine were stone bottommost of nan convention conscionable 2 years agone but will now bid to assistance their first Premiership title since 1996.

Tries from Ted Hill and Beno Obano were cancelled retired by scores for Sale skipper Ben Curry and Tommy Taylor arsenic nan location broadside held a slender half-time lead.

Sale concisely led successful nan 2nd half done winger Tom O’Flaherty's try, but Bath fly-half Finn Russell's 16 kicked points proved pivotal arsenic nan teams were separated by conscionable 1 constituent pinch little than 10 minutes connected nan clock.

Annett's precocious people yet clinched a fascinating semi-final played astatine an electrical pace, pinch nan league's apical 2 now group to look disconnected for nan title astatine Twickenham connected 8 June.

The location broadside made a beardown commencement astatine a raucous Recreation Ground, and Hill vanished a scintillating move aft being group free down nan right.

The shot was worked backmost to Russell earlier scrum-half Ben Spencer's footwear recovered flanker Hill to people nan game's first try.

Last season's beaten finalists Sale soon deed backmost done skipper Curry arsenic nan England man powered complete nan statement successful nan maul aft George Ford had kicked into nan corner.

Prop Obano scored Bath's 2nd earlier Russell kicked a punishment betwixt nan posts from nan halfway statement to unfastened up a 13-point lead for nan location side.

Ollie Lawrence's superb tackle denied O'Flaherty astatine nan extremity of a superb tally arsenic nan crippled was played pinch awesome intensity.

There was an constituent of deja vu for Sale's 2nd effort arsenic Taylor powered complete from a akin position to their first, pinch nan Sharks taking advantage of nan powerfulness of their maul.

Ford converted and past scored a punishment to abruptly bring Sale to wrong 3 points arsenic nan visitors capitalised connected a bully spell astatine nan extremity of nan first half to spell into nan break only 18-15 behind.

Ford levelled nan crippled up earlier Tom Curry was introduced for Sale early successful nan 2nd half, nan back-rower making his first quality since sustaining a hep wounded playing for England astatine nan World Cup past year.

Sharks took nan lead for what would beryllium nan only clip successful nan lucifer erstwhile full-back Joe Carpenter pounced connected a correction to footwear a awesome shot done for winger O’Flaherty to score.

Russell's 4th successful punishment of nan crippled gave Bath a one-point lead pinch 15 minutes remaining, but nan Scotland world missed a chance for his 5th pinch 8 minutes to spell to time off nan crippled successful nan balance.

However, his side's battalion recovered nan spot to powerfulness complete nan statement pinch a converted effort from replacement prop Annett, giving them a two-score lead pinch Twickenham connected nan horizon.

They will look table-topping Saints, who hit past season's champions Saracens 22-20 connected Friday.

Bath head of rugby Johann van Graan told BBC Radio 5 Live:

"My family and my religion are very important to me, I'm very thankful for days for illustration this.

"This group of players and unit person made a quality to nan lives of nan group of Bath.

"We've put belief and pridefulness backmost into nan jersey. I saw them belonging to an unthinkable nine coming and we've created a travel that’s gone from dream to belief, and nan belief is backmost successful Bath Rugby.

"This was an unthinkable crippled of rugby truthful in installments to Sale, they're gracious successful defeat.

"What a spot to play rugby – The Rec was rocking today."

Bath fly-half Finn Russell said:

"When I signed present I didn't deliberation I'd get to a last successful nan first play truthful that's superb but we've not achieved our extremity yet, our extremity is to triumph nan Premiership truthful we've put ourselves successful a awesome position to do that.

"The activity starts now and we've sewage to execute adjacent play amended than we did coming to get nan win."

Sale Sharks head of rugby Alex Sanderson said:

"[I feel] numb, that it's ended prematurely and disappointment because we're victims of our ain demise today.

"They're a typical group and it's been a beautiful typical season.

"We conscionable didn't look to person nan composure to support nan unit connected them each clip we turned nan tide.

"We've grown a bully squad present complete nan past 3 years and intelligibly we've sewage immoderate increasing to do but I'm really gladsome to beryllium portion of it."

Sale fly-half George Ford said:

"It's ever disappointing erstwhile you suffer a semi-final and nan emotion is we could person helped ourselves a batch much than we did.

"We felt bully connected nan field, we didn’t consciousness for illustration we were moving retired of steam aliases thing for illustration that.

"It's 1 we'll return connected nan chin, lick our wounds, person nan summertime disconnected and travel backmost better."

Bath: Gallagher; Cokanasiga, Lawrence, Redpath, Muir; Russell, Spencer (c); Obano, Dunn, Du Toit; Roux, Ewels; Hill, Underhill, Barbeary

Replacements: Annett, Schoeman, Stuart, Stooke, Bayliss, Schreuder, Bailey, Reid

Sale: Carpenter; Roebuck, S James, R du Preez, O'Flaherty; Ford, Warr; Rodd, Taylor, Harper; Wiese, Van Rhyn; B Curry (c), Dugdale, JL du Preez

Replacements: Creevy, McIntrye, John, Bamber, Ellis, Quirke, L James, T Curry

Referee: Luke Pearce