Friendly fire helps Bath make a splash
Gloucester woe after ninth straight league loss
BATH ensured all the hard work off the field was worthwhile as they made it a league double over bitter rivals Gloucester in the West Country derby. Avon Fire and Rescue Service were drafted in to drain huge pools of water off the surface after the battering inflicted by Storm Henk, and their work was so effective that Bath could run free and make a splash at the top of the table.
In April 2022, Gloucester beat Bath 64-0 at Kingsholm but the fortunes of the two clubs have taken contrasting directions since.
Bath weren’t at their best here but they still did enough with man of the match Tom de Glanville scoring twice to seal Gloucester’s ninth straight Premiership defeat — their worst ever league run. England head coach Steve Borthwick and his Scotland counterpart Gregor Townsend were both in the crowd.
‘All credit to Bruce Craig and the board. They changed the pitch after the Leicester game,’ said Bath head of rugby Johann van Graan (below).
‘When we trained this week parts of the pitch were underwater. Even the fire brigade came down to pump water out. It was a real club effort to get the game on and full credit to our heads of departments. We are right in it and in a good position. We have got a pretty healthy squad and we are right among the contenders.’
Conditions were fine come the start, save a biting January wind.
The press room next to the ground, however, was flooded. Both teams lost internationals to late withdrawals in Gloucester wing Louis Rees-Zammit and Bath’s England international Sam Underhill.
A frankly bizarre first period ended with Gloucester 10-5 up.
The opening 40 was best summed up by a truly ridiculous passage of kick tennis. Back and forth the ball went in the air, the tedium growing with each kick. It drew the ire of the crowd.
Thankfully, the monotony was ended when Adam Hastings’ effort was deflected and landed in the hands of Jonny May upfield who was given the chance to run.
Bath’s start was error- strewn. Gloucester capitalised, Ruan Ackermann being driven over and Hastings converted. It came after Bath experienced line- out problems. There were plenty of other home issues too. It was surprising given the strength of Bath’s season to date. Finn Russell did see a lovely kick collected by Cameron Redpath but Tom Dunn was held up over the line after a quick tap.
Bath have looked well-oiled to date this term. But their first game of 2024 was more than scrappy.
That was until Ollie Lawrence carried forward and De Glanville played a one-two with Will Muir to score in the corner.
Russell couldn’t convert and his Scotland team-mate Hastings kicked a penalty.
Bath’s supporters expressed their frustration with referee Christophe Ridley as the players went off for the break but they should have been more concerned with their team’s inaccuracy.
Bath’s second try arrived when the game resumed. Muir kicked ahead and the ball went straight through the legs of Gloucester scrum-half Caolan Englefield. Muir collected to score. Russell converted. Bath forward GJ van Velze had a try ruled out and Gloucester’s defence was plucky but the hosts now had territorial dominance.
England centre Lawrence impressed in front of Borthwick. Townsend, meanwhile, would surely have been pleased with the display of home centre Redpath who formed a nice partnership with Lawrence.
Santi Carreras was yellowcarded for a deliberate knock-on but Bath, after initial frustration, got a third when De Glanville glided through for his second from turnover ball.
Gloucester pushed hard in response and an away try — and a possible draw — looked a distinct possibility as they hammered away at the Bath line only for Hastings’ pass to go loose. Bath gratefully hacked clear and won the penalty to huge cheers. Gloucester had to make do with a losing bonus point.
The sight of Alfie Barbeary being sick on the pitch at the final whistle summed up Bath’s efforts although it was something of a surprise given he’d appeared as a second-half replacement.
Gloucester director of rugby George Skivington said: ‘If we’d played like that all season we would be in a different part of the table. There was some heroic defence. I’m pretty pleased.
‘I know we didn’t win and a draw would have been a fair result but our attitude was good. We want to win of course and we will. We are close.’