Only friendly ends in loss for Hooper’s men
Bath Rugby were unable to head back over the bridge with a pre-season victory as Cardiff Rugby’s impregnable defence of the wide channels was enough to hold off the Danny Cipriani-led backline for a 25-14 victory.
Despite flashes of encouragement in tries from Beno Obano and trialist Richard de Carpentier, Rhys Priestland’s brilliance from the boot and five-pointers from James Ratti, Lloyd Williams and Owen Lane put Cardiff over the line in a comfortable win.
Stuart Hooper’s men were slow out the blocks, as masterful kicks from former Blue, Black and Whites fly-half Rhys Priestland combined with the hosts’ sheer physicality to put the Welsh side a try up early, following a pick-and-go from number eight Ratti.
Bath would respond quickly with a pick-and-go of their own, as England prop Obano put the team level following a tricky break from upand-coming scrum-half Ollie Fox.
Fox performed impressively in his 40 minutes, with the 22-yearold looking composed with plenty of first-team minutes looking set to come his way this season following the departure of Will Chudley to Worcester Warriors.
The Blues’ utilisation of an outside to in defensive system rendered the outside channels worthless, leaving the debuting Cipriani and Jonathan Joseph struggling to unlock the defensive line to showcase their flair.
In response to Cardiff’s dominating opening minutes, Bath were forced to search for other areas to gain the upper hand, with triumph coming in the form of aggressive competition in the lineout from Miles Reid and captain Charlie Ewels. Priestland would put Cardiff up heading into half time, slotting over a penalty from just inside the half-way line following an offence at scrum-time.
Bath returned to the field looking transformed with a near completely changed 15 following the interval, as trialist Richard de Carpentier touched the ball down with the third pick-and-go try of the game.
Dai Young’s men responded furiously, with a quick brace from Wales internationals Lloyd Williams and Owen Lane giving the Blues a comfortable 11-point lead heading into the final 25 minutes.
Despite flashes of brilliance from Orlando Bailey and Max Clark, Bath were unable to claw back the deficit as the composed Blues defence held off the onslaught for a 25-14 victory. While not exactly an encouraging game with very little ball-time afforded to Bath’s stacked wing-core, plenty of opportunities were presented to younger members of the squad who may become more familiar faces at the Rec over the course of the season.
Stuart Hooper will find solace in the deployment of Bath’s new, more aggressive defensive style, with a decent first-half shift on their own try-line offering encouragement for what is to come for the side this year, but undoubtedly there is more work to be done.
The Blue, Black and White will now look ahead to next weekend, when they will travel to the AJ Bell Stadium for their Gallagher Premiership curtain-raiser with Sale Sharks.