But what Bath have shown in the last two years under Johann van Graan is a burgeoning self-belief. Northampton will have more attacking threats than Sale and will threaten the gainline more in attack and defence, but the club that dominated the first 10 years of the league era in England has rediscovered the art of winning and will take some stopping.
There was a point in the first half when it looked as if Sale would be overwhelmed, and not just because they were trailing by 13 points. Without Manu Tuilagi, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Hyron Andrews, who failed a late fitness test, the Sharks struggled to get over the gainline.
A lesson of the first semi-final was that physical superiority invariably tells on the scoreboard and Sale found themselves drifting for a period as Bath, urged on by a capacity crowd hungry for success, played at a high tempo after bossing the breakdown.
Sale are known as one Premiership's of the more physical sides and had they secured more try bonus points they would have enjoyed home advantage yesterday, but for a while they found themselves stranded in a tactical no-man's-land.
They lacked the front foot ball to allow George Ford to dictate the play but it was strange to see them resorting to the air after just one drive. It may have been the wind which Sale played into in the opening 40 minutes, but Gus Warr's box-kicking gave his chasers little chance, unlike his opposite number Ben Spencer's.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 02, 2024 من The Rugby Paper.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 02, 2024 من The Rugby Paper.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Ten-try Chiefs show Pirates no mercy
TEN-TRY Exeter inflicted the backlash from six successive defeats in their worst ever start to a Premiership season on a young Pirates side suffering their own problems in the Championship.
South America look to keep on building
AS Sebastián Piñeyrúa's historic six-year term as President of Rugby Sudamérica comes to an end, his replacement shows no signs of slowing down.
Scarratt excited by new pathway
ENGLAND centurion Emily Scarratt is delighted with the new women's BUCS programme which aims to provide a smoother pathway for young aspiring female players.
Baxter: I want to make things better
ROB Baxter will not be walking away from Exeter, the only club still looking for a Premiership victory this season, believing he can get the Chiefs back on track and he cannot bear the thought of anyone else doing the job.
Pearce walks in his father's footsteps
PADDY Pearce is living a dream after emulating his father and great-uncle by playing for the club he supported as a boy, Bristol.
New England group will cause uncertainty
SO JUST when we thought that everything was getting sorted between the RFU, the clubs and players, a number of new agreements and a new group raises its head.
Galthie turns his sights to the future
FRANCE head coach Fabien Galthie offered the clearest hint yet of Les Bleus' future on Wednesday, when he released 19 players back F to their clubs for the ninth and final Top 14 round before the international break.
Gilmore has tightened up our defence - Anderson
CAMERON Anderson has hailed the impact made by defence coach Jason Gilmore, below, since he arrived at The Stoop in the summer.
Ampthill given 11-try lesson in class from Bath
BATH secured a thumping away success in the opening match of their Premiership Rugby Cup campaign against Ampthill at Dillingham Park.
New faces take the plaudits for Saints
NORTHAMPTON handed out a thorough lesson to a tame Leicester team in this one-sided East Midlands derby to launch the Premiership Cup.