England and Lions lock Jonny Hill put a fan in a headlock and left him with a split eye in ugly scenes, after Finn Russell kicked 16 points in Bath’s play-off victory over Sale

Bath’s play-off victory over Sale ended in ugly scenes as 6ft7in lock Jonny Hill put a fan in a headlock and left him with a split eye.

Tensions boiled over after the final whistle as the forward, who has been capped by England and the Lions, was pulled away by Sale coach Byron McGuigan.

Hill has not played since January because of a knee injury but he cut a frustrated figure from the coaching seats as Sale narrowly missed out on a place in the final.

The bust-up took place in the friends and family area of the West Stand, where a 28-year-old Bath supporter was left with broken glasses and a cut above his right eye.

The fan said: ‘I was sat there, and he came down the stairs, grabbed me around the throat, snapped my sunglasses and cut the top of my eye.

Bath’s play-off victory over Sale was overshadowed by ugly scenes at the final whistle

Jonny Hill, seen in 2022, put a fan in a headlock and left him with a split eye and broken glasses

Sale coach Alex Sanderson only became aware of the incident during his post-match presser

‘He was like saying to me, “Don’t ever do that again”. I was just giving him some banter.

‘To be honest, all I want is a new pair of sunglasses. It is not football. I was sat with my partner and all her family (Bath fans). We were Worcester fans.’

Sale coach Alex Sanderson spent the match down by the pitch and only became aware of the incident during his post-match press conference. He said: ‘It is news to me, Jonny is not the aggressive type and I will answer those questions when I know. I can vouch for Jonny’s character, he is not an overly aggressive spiteful person.’

The incident overshadowed a tight contest, with Finn Russell kicking 16 points to secure Bath’s place in Saturday’s final against Northampton.

Bath have not won the Premiership since 1996 and club legend Jeremy Guscott was sat in the stands as Johan van Graan’s side bid to end their trophy drought.

Russell’s line-break helped create the field position for Ted Hill’s opening try, with the fly-half kicking a penalty to give the hosts an eight-point lead.

Having invested heavily in their squad, the pressure on Bath shoulders was evident. Both teams broke through in attack but lacked the finishing touch. You would expect Northampton to have a far more ruthless edge in the final.

‘Our discipline allowed them back into our 22 repeatedly and you can only soak up that pressure for so long,’ said Sanderson. ‘We felt at times we had the winning of the game and these big games turn on very small hinges, a couple of hits and a couple of penalties.’

Ollie Lawrence’s tackle on Tom O’Flaherty epitomised Bath’s desperate scramble defence that kept Sale at bay. If Manu Tuilagi were playing, it may well have been a different story.

Ben Curry scored from a driving lineout for Sale before Beno Obano restored Bath’s lead off the back of Will Muir’s 50-22 kick. Sale’s penalty count was high and Russell took advantage from the tee.

‘We were 18-5 up – credit to Sale, what a good side, they came back to 18-all – and then it was can we handle the pressure? And yes, we did,’ said Van Graan.

‘I am proud of the way we closed the game down. The vision I sold to everyone on July 11, 2022 was that I’d that respect out past, but we start from zero. ‘We’ve gone from hoping as a club to believing we can win. We came through an incredible amount of pressure today.

Finn Russell kicked 16 points to secure Bath’s place in Saturday’s final against Northampton

Bath’s Head Coach Johann van Graan was proud of the way his side closed the game down

George Ford’s accurate touch-kicking set up Tommy Taylor for another lineout try, weathering the storm and leaving Bath with just three points to show for their impressive first half.

Sanderson urged his players to show more ‘violence’ in the collisions during the second half and their efforts led to Ford levelling the score from the kicking tee.

Making his first appearance of the season, Tom Curry returned from the bench and moments later, O’Flaherty chased a kick to give Sale the lead.

But Bath’s big-money investment in Russell eventually paid off, with the No 10 kicking another penalty, before converting Niall Annett’s try to give his side an unassailable lead.