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Manu Tuilagi and Tom Curry excel in Sale’s 14-man destruction of Bath

“Cohesion” has become a buzzword in rugby and there can be no doubt which team displayed more of the “C”word here. Despite losing the prop Nick Schonert to a seventh-minute red card, Sale dominated on a glistening late summer’s day in the south-west. The Sharks’ impressively joined-up approach, executed with no little power and precision, comprehensively extinguished Johan van Graan’s hopes of victory as Bath’s new head coach made his Premiership bow at the Recreation Ground.

Van Graan’s side began their league campaign with a narrow defeat by Bristol last week but this, considering the fact they had a man more for 73 minutes, was far more dispiriting. Another season of frustration and under-achievement beckons unless Van Graan can galvanise his squad and succeed in his aim of improving their fitness. At this rate, they will again be grateful that relegation is not a threat.

Sale, on the other hand, look a team capable of challenging for the title: it was an eye-catching afternoon for Tom O’Flaherty, one of their summer recruits from Exeter, while the addition of Jonny Hill in the second row also looks a natural fit. Rob du Preez, at fly-half, was metronomic and flawless off the kicking tee while Manu Tuilagi was at his destructive best.

It had been hard enough for Bath early on, even at 15-a-side. After Akker van der Merwe sent the first line out long to the No 8 Dan du Preez, Sale worked through the phases and O’Flaherty dotted down the first try.

Nearly 20 minutes after the red card for Schonert, sent off for making contact with his head in a tackle, Sale scored again. Simon McIntyre, the prop, showed the hands of a fly-half with an outstanding pass that created the space for Van der Merwe to bundle over, bouncing off

Read more on theguardian.com