Joe Cokanasiga crosses late for Bath to restrict lowly Sale to draw

Bath’s Joe Cokanasiga takes on Jean-Luc du Preez of Sale in their scrappy draw at the Rec

Every point is going to be precious in the lower reaches of this year’s Premiership and this grim, low-scoring draw will hardly lift the sinking morale of Bath’s sodden supporters. 

Failing to beat the league’s bottom-placed side at home is rarely a positive sign and the club’s director of rugby, Todd Blackadder, made no attempt to apply a gloss to another frustrating performance.


Blackadder freely conceded his side are “letting our supporters down in the way we’re playing” and acknowledged that sixth place in the table is a false indicator of Bath’s current position.

In past years their next home game against Leicester on 30 December would have shaped the title race; now, with just four points separating the bottom six sides heading towards Christmas, that traditional old fixture is starting to feel like a must-win relegation scrap.

In that respect the two points salvaged by Joe Cokanasiga’s converted try eight minutes from time were better than nothing but Bath, for all their investment and England squad members, have now won a mere three games out of nine this season.

To quote Sale’s director of rugby Steve Diamond: “It’s going to be highly combative and a big-name club is going to go down.”

This game underlined why Diamond reckons that team will be someone other than the Sharks. Having weathered a heap of first-half pressure they led entering the closing 10 minutes through a try from their forceful South African No 8 Jean-Luc du Preez, converted by his brother Robert.

It required some nifty footwork on the left touchline from the replacement Cooper Vuna to drag Bath back into contention, his sidestep and neat left-foot grubber falling nicely for Cokanasiga to add another important try to his growing collection.

There probably should have been other chances taken in the first half, when Bath failed to ram home their initial scrum advantage, but despite their overwhelming territorial advantage, the home side’s attacking efforts were depressingly slow and predictable. “You’re never going to wear down a team like Sale if you keep playing slow,” said Blackadder. “We’re not playing the sort of rugby we want to play.”