Alfie Barbeary’s late try earns Bath thrilling comeback victory against Sale
The reservoir of talent at Bath runs deep these days.The champions rested a raft of key players but still had too much class for a Sale side whose season continues to unravel at a rate of knots.An entertaining game played in difficult, windswept conditions could have gone either way, but Johann van Graan’s side conjured up two tries in the final quarter to clinch a bonus-point win.First their precocious 20‑year‑old hooker, Kepu Tuipulotu, broke on the left touchline before sending a delightful kick downfield for his fellow replacement Bernard van der Linde to gather and score.It was a telling reminder of Tuipulotu’s awesome potential on a day when Finn Russell and Ben Spencer were given the afternoon off.
That 62nd-minute try was converted to level the scores at 26-26 before another replacement, Alfie Barbeary, went over to clinch victory with nine minutes remaining and put his side only a point behind the leaders, Northampton.Van Graan paid a rich tribute to Tuipulotu, who has already represented England at A‑team level and looks destined for a future at the highest level.“Kepu’s one of the most explosive players I’ve coached and has huge potential,” the Bath head of rugby said.“To have the speed of thought to put the ball in behind, it was a massive moment in the game.“That’s what you want from your players – a point of difference – and his explosiveness is certainly that.
He’s still a young man, but he works on his game so much.”Bath have bigger fish to fry than a Sharks team who slipped to their ninth defeat from 12 Prem outings this season, with a Champions Cup last‑16 home tie against Saracens looming on Saturday.Asked about Bath’s remarkable squad depth as they prepare for the rematch with a Sarries side they thumped 62-15 in the Prem this month, Van Graan said: “We could potentially pick 40 guys but unfortunately the regulations state you can only pick 23.We’ll choose our best 23 and it’ll be one massive game.”Sale were missing the Curry twins and Asher Opoku-Fordjour through injury but four other England internationals – Tom Roebuck, George Ford, Bevan Rodd and Luke Cowan‑Dickie – returned to the starting lineup after their recent involvement in the Six Nations.
Defeat was another bitter pill to swallow for a team who have made the playoffs in each of the past three seasons, and the trip to Harlequins in the Champions Cup last 16 on Saturday has taken on added importance,Sale’s hopes of making the top four were in effect over even before this game and the sight of Ford, their trusted general, dropping the ball close to Bath’s line late on summed up their season,Their director of rugby, Alex Sanderson, said: “I’m crestfallen,I’m just gutted for the amount of effort that the lads put in,For the amount of endeavour that went into it to not come away with a result which I believe we were good for, certainly at half-time, is frustrating but it’s seemingly a similar story to how the rest of the season has gone.
”Sale fought back well after falling behind to an 18th‑minute try from the hooker Dan Frost, who dived over from close range,Bath then had the wing Joe Cokanasiga sent to the sin‑bin in the 26th minute for a deliberate knock-on and Sale soon capitalised when Rob du Preez’s exquisite long pass sent Tom O’Flaherty over in the left corner,Sale scored again when Du Preez squeezed over from close range for a try awarded after a review by the television match official, Peter Allan, before Bath lost Frost to a yellow card for persistent team infringements,Sale soon punished Bath again, with Cowan‑Dickie forcing his way over for his 44th Prem career try and, although Ford failed to convert, the hosts went in at half-time 19-7 ahead,Five minutes after the interval, and with Frost still in the sin-bin, Bath scored their second try when Louie Hennessey went over from a lineout and Santi Carreras converted.
Ethan Staddon had Bath’s third try when he went over from close range in the 50th minute after good work from Hennessey in the right corner.Carreras missed the conversion to leave the scores finely poised at 19-19 but, as the hour approached, Roebuck took Raffi Quirke’s pass to cross in the right corner and Ford converted.Bath drew level shortly after the hour when Tuipulotu showed remarkable confidence, poise and skill to produce a huge play which invited Van der Linde to saunter clear to score for a try which Carreras converted to level at 26-26.Barbeary then scored a try that capped a period of pressure covering well over 20 phases, securing an entertaining win for a Bath side with lofty aspirations in the coming days and weeks.
Ready to order? 10 rules for UK’s restaurant diners
Hospitality is in a right state at the moment, what with the seemingly never-ending shitshow of rising rents and rates, extortionate VAT, higher staffing, produce and utility costs, and all those other well-documented socioeconomic pressures (don’t mention the Bre*it word, please). So the last thing those of us who work in this beleaguered industry need right now is to be kicked in the proverbials by the very people we rely on perhaps more than anyone. And, yes, by that I mean you, our lovely customers. So here is some advice on how to avoid infuriating your serving staff.Turn up … Pre-Covid, most restaurants didn’t have the balls to take card details or charge for late cancellations and no-shows, but that’s all changed now (thank God)
Is foraging really feasible to feed myself?
When I called Robin Greenfield, an environmental activist and author, his assistant answered. “We’re stopped really quick,” Marielle said, adding “he is harvesting a ton of wild onions right now. He’ll be on in just a minute.”I waited, curious to see his haul and bemused by his willingness to delay an interview for wild vegetables. I had called Greenfield, who wrote Food Freedom about the year he grew and foraged 100% of his food, to talk about how possible, or hard, it is to do just that
Benjamina Ebuehi’s recipe for lemon lamington cake | The sweet spot
I think lamingtons should be much more popular than they are on this side of the world. One of my go-to coffee shops is Aussie-run and they always have a proud display of chunky, jam-filled, chocolate- and coconut-coated lamingtons. Making them isn’t complicated, just a little messy with all the filling and dipping of multiple cubes of cake in different bowls. In an attempt to streamline the process, and because giant versions of anything are always fun, I’ve made one extra-large lamington. It’s a wonderfully soft sponge, covered in lemon curd ganache and filled with plenty of cream, making for a very pretty Easter centrepiece
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Portuguese wines have been making steady advances on British drinkers in recent years, and for good reason. The country is home to many delightful indigenous grapes (bom dia baga, encantado encruzado), as well as the sort of varied maritime, mountainous terrain that encourages personality. Its winemakers tend to be forward-thinking and climate-conscious, too, and there are lots of bottles of interest at the “midweek” price point – that is, £8-£13. Case in point: the “yellow tram wine”, AKA Porta 6 Lisboa, is now a ubiquitous presence on our high streets.The Guardian’s journalism is independent
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It was not without satisfaction that I found my 14-year-old son making pesto the other week – for the first 13 years of his life he referred to it as either “pesto-the-bogey-man”, or “gross”. To avoid interfering and sabotaging the moment, I didn’t look too closely, so I didn’t clock the shallow bowl and immersion blender combination. I did hear the noise – a blunt churn – as the blade hit the leaves and nuts. Acting more like a leaf blower than cutter, it sent green and white oily fragments up the cupboards and over pretty much every pot, utensil and tool nearby. Impressively unfazed, he managed to scrape a good proportion of the elements into the food processor and make an extremely tasty pesto, which was mixed with linguine, green beans and potatoes
Anything but eggs – the best chocolate for Easter
If you like chocolate and nut butter, Radek’s Chocolate is doing wonderful things with both, and its dairy free Silky Almond Chocolate Rabbit is magically creamy. Looking more like subservient mice than bunnies, NearyNógs’ dark chocolate bunnies, stuffed with salted caramel, were my favourite. A superb, successful marriage of very good Ecuadorian chocolate and caramel: worthy of a royal telegram.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link
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