Check out our take on the weekend's action in the Guinness Premiership starting with the big game of the weekend as fifth placed Sale Sharks entertain league leaders Bath at Edgeley Park.

For details of all the other matches over the weekend click on the link

Sale Sharks v Bath Rugby Friday 28^th March 7.45pm

Current Form

·        The top game of the weekend sees top of the table Bath visit 5^th placed Sale at Edgeley Park on Friday night. Sale did not play last weekend, but last time out they beat the team then top of the table, Gloucester, 22-16 at Edgeley Park.

·        Sale have played 8 matches at home this season, winning 7 and losing to Worcester.

·        Bath beat London Irish 19-16 last Saturday to move to the top of the Guinness Premiership, level on points with Gloucester but having won 1 more game.

·        They have played 8 games away from home this season, winning 4 and losing 4.

History

·        Sale and Bath have met 25 times in league rugby since 1995.

·        Sale have won 10 to Bath’s 14 with 1 match resulting in a draw.

·        Sale have won 7 of their last 8 home meetings against Bath.

·        Bath have only won at Sale once this century, 14-9 on 26^th September 2003.

·        On 26^th April 1997 Bath inflicted Sale’s worst ever defeat on them with an 84-7 victory at the Recreation Ground.

·        Bath beat Sale 21-19 at the Rec in their first meeting this season.

Trends and Trivia

·        If Sale win on Friday they will have beaten all the top 7 sides (excluding themselves) in the Premiership at home this season.

·        Sale are the only team in the Premiership not to have conceded 300 points this season.

·        Sale have conceded the fewest number of points in the league in their 8 home matches this season, just 104.

·        Sale have scored the fewest number of tries in the Premiership in their home matches this season, just 12. But, they have conceded the least number of tries by any team at home this season, just 7 in 8 games.

·        From the above, you will deduce that Edgeley Park has seen the fewest tries scored on any Premiership ground this season, just 19 in 8 matches.

·        The Sale forwards have only scored 6 tries this season, the least by any pack in the Premiership. Bath have only conceded 5 tries to the forward pack of the opposition this year, the fewest by any team in the Premiership.

·        With Saracens, Sale have converted the most penalties at home this season, 26.

·        Charlie Hodgson has scored most points for Sale this season with 141 followed by Luke McAlister with 51. Oriol Ripol and Ben Foden have both scored 5 tries.

·        Bath top the Guinness Premiership for the first time since the final match of the 2003/2004 league season.

·        Bath need 1 point to join Gloucester and Leicester in passing 400 points scored this season.

·        Bath are the highest scorers in the Premiership in the opening and closing quarters of matches. They have scored 109 in the first 20 minutes and 140 in the last 20 minutes of their 17 matches.

·        Bath have scored 44 tries this season to Sale’s 28.

·        Bath and Sale have both had 27 tries scored against them this season.

·        Bath have still only let in 2 tries this season in the first quarter of their 17 matches, both to Wasps’ players. Rob Webber scored after 3 minutes at Adams Park and Danny Cipriani after 15 minutes at the Rec.

·        Bath have scored 20 tries from the wings this season, the most by any team in the Premiership.

·        Olly Barkley has scored 125 points for Bath this season and Shaun Berne 66. Matt Banahan has 8 tries to his name and is the league’s joint top try scorer with Tom Varndell.