Exeter tuned up for their season-defining Heineken Champions Cup semi-final against La Rochelle next weekend with an impressive 22-21 comeback win over Bristol; Bath edged to a 45-35 win over Harlequins during a thrilling back-and-forth game at Twickenham
Saturday 22 April 2023 23:23, UK
Sale Sharks booked a home tie in the Gallagher Premiership play-offs after digging deep to defeat Gloucester 25-22 at Kingsholm as part of Saturday's action...
Sale are likely to host Leicester on May 13, with Alex Sanderson's team chasing a second Premiership title 17 years after they were crowned English champions.
Gloucester made them fight every inch of the way, but Sale even overcame yellow cards for England internationals Tom Curry and Manu Tuilagi as they displayed admirable resilience.
George Ford's 64th-minute penalty repelled Gloucester's resistance before Sam James' breakaway effort during the closing stages saw victory confirmed.
Lock Jean-Luc du Preez, No 8 Jono Ross and substitute James scored tries for Sale, with Ford adding two penalties and two conversions, while Gloucester delivered touchdowns from captain Lewis Ludlow, plus wings Louis Rees-Zammit and Jonny May.
Adam Hastings, in his first match since suffering a shoulder injury on Christmas Eve, booted two conversions and a penalty but Gloucester were left with a losing bonus-point as scant consolation.
Fourteen-player Exeter tuned up for their season-defining Heineken Champions Cup semi-final against La Rochelle next weekend with an impressive 22-21 comeback win over Bristol.
The downside for Chiefs is they will be heading to Bordeaux without upcoming lock star Dafydd Jenkins, who was red-carded in the 17th minute for a high tackle on Max Lahiff with the game scoreless.
But the hosts stayed in the fight with tries from departing club greats Ian Whitten and Dave Ewers, and another for Josh Iosefa-Scott, to allow Joe Simmonds to land a 78th-minute penalty to win it.
Bristol scored tries through George Kloska, Joe Jenkins and Yann Thomas, all converted by Callum Sheedy, but it proved to not be enough.
Saturday signalled the end of an era for Exeter as Stuart Hogg, Ewers, Whitten, Joe and Sam Simmonds started their final game for Chiefs, headlining 19 departures from the club come the end of the season, including Exeter's first British and Irish Lion Jack Nowell, who missed the Premiership tie with a knee issue.
Attack was the order of the day as Bath edged to a 45-35 win over Harlequins during a thrilling back-and-forth game at Twickenham.
Two quick yellow cards for Andre Esterhuizen for a high tackle and Caden Murley for a deliberate knock-on around the half-hour mark gave Bath a chance to dominate play, and they took quick advantage with GJ van Velze crashing over under the posts from close range and Ben Spencer duly converting for a 17-14 lead.
Not deterred by the numbers disadvantage though, Harlequins hit back, Marcus Smith offloading to Joe Marchant, who after a 20-metre burst, fed the ball back to Smith to race for the line and score, before converting to give them a 21-17 lead.
There was still time for the visitors to get another try of their own before half-time. Orlando Bailey's cross-kick fell to Joe Cokanasiga after Josh Bassett had misread the bounce, his offload then finding Ollie Lawrence who held off the covering defence to touch down, with Spencer's conversion giving them a 24-21 lead going into the break.
After a bonus-point try apiece for both sides, Bath extended their lead to 38-28 after Cokanasiga's burst through the line from 15 metres out, with Spencer again perfect with his kick.
Alex Dombrandt responded immediately, diving over after Smith's incredible run was cut a few metres short, his conversion bringing Harlequins back to within three down 38-35.
However, the game was finally settled by Max Ojomoh's juggling effort following Lawrence's break with three minutes to go, Piers Francis' conversion making it 45-35 to end a sensational afternoon.
