Ford keeps his cool to seal it for Sharks

GEORGE Ford stepped up with ice in his veins to slot the match winning penalty and maintain pacesetters Sale Sharks’ position at the top of the table.

- BEN JAYCOCK

Ford’s heroics continue Sale’s 12-month winning run in the Premiership at home as the Sharks continue to make the Salford Stadium a real fortress.

Bath were involved in one of the Premiership’s most pulsating games last weekend in a West Country thriller against Bristol, but this contest was a tense affair that was more about brute force than flair.

Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson was delighted to have secured their sixth victory of the season by edging a side that was flying coming into the encounter.

He said: “It’s one of a few times this season where we have had to find a way in the dying moments to win. Sometimes it’s been through our defence, and tonight was our set-piece and kicking game. They are quite a resourceful bunch, and it shows that we have multiple ways in which to take the game by the scruff of the neck and snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat.