Sale off the bottom but Bath battle back to secure draw

Bath rescued a 7-7 draw at home to Sale Sharks on Sunday thanks to a late try from Joe Cokanasiga.

Todd Blackadder’s men were beaten by Newcastle Falcons in their last match and looked set to lose again to Sale, who started the day bottom of the Premiership table, when Jean-Luc du Preez scored early in the second half.

But the influential Cokanasiga helped bring Bath back level with seven minutes remaining in a low-scoring affair at the Recreation Ground, earning a share of the spoils.

The two struggling sides played out a scoreless first half, with Denny Solomona denied a try shortly before the break by a superb Cokanasiga tackle, the TMO confirming the Sale man lost control of the ball before crossing.

But on-loan flanker Du Preez broke the deadlock shortly after the restart as he went over from close range, his brother Robert kicking the extras to edge the Sharks towards a precious win.

With time running out, though, Bath came up with a response. Cooper Vuna charged down the left and his grubber kick allowed Cokanasiga to score, allowing James Wilson to kick the hosts level by slotting over the conversion.

73′ | TRY! @CVUNA bounces off the men down on the left wing, puts a grubber kick through and it’s that man again @J_cokanasiga, who pounces to score! Wilson squares things up with the kick. [7-7] pic.twitter.com/xesZmfZopw

— Bath Rugby (@bathrugby) December 2, 2018

The result sees the Sharks climb above Newcastle, who slip back to the foot of the table despite recording back-to-back wins in the competition.

KEO.co.za News wire is powered by opta