Hooper delighted with his side’s blend of rugby
BATH RUGBY WORCESTER 47 22
BATH director of rugby Stuart Hooper was delighted with the contrasting style his Blue, Black & Whites side produced to beat Worcester compared with the attritional battle at Newcastle just one week previously.
The 38-19 triumph at the Falcons was forward-dominated, but here Hooper’s men were expansive in their play as they stormed into a 40-point advantage.
The Bath boss said: “We trained hard in the week, so we knew we had plenty in the tank and therefore we wanted to move the ball and create space. Will Muir scored two excellent tries early on as the ball went wide as we know we have some dangerous backs if we can get them some space.
“It was a different type of game to our win at Newcastle last week as then we produced some successful forward platform. That’s the blend of rugby I think you need to take to win games in the Premiership.”
Bath were disrupted by injuries to their backs which affected their second-half performance.
Hooper added: “Will (Muir) failed an HIA, so he won’t be absent for long, but Rhys (Priestland) and Tom (De Glanville) have leg injuries, so we will need to have them assessed.
“However I think we should have been able to deal with that better as we need to be able to ride out those bumps and remain in control. Over 80 minutes we still have a bit to do in respect of decision making so it will be an interesting review this week.”
Worcester head coach Jonathan Thomas was bitterly disappointed with his side’s first-half performance which saw them trail 40-0 before rallying to gain some respectability in the 47-22 defeat.
Bath took full advantage to win their fifth game in their last six in the Gallagher Premiership. Will Muir and Tom Dunn each scored two tries, with Zach Mercer, Ben Spencer and Max Clark also touching down, while Rhys Priestland added five conversions and Orlando Bailey one.
Joe Batley and Perry Humphreys (2) scored tries for Worcester, with Ethan Waller also crossing, and Fin Smith adding a conversion.
“Our first-half performance wasn’t acceptable and I was really disappointed by it,” said Thomas. “We picked the players for a reason, but you can’t afford to feel yourselves into a Premiership match and we had to tell them a few home truths.
“We challenged the boys at halftime to try to secure a bonus point so I’m really proud of the boys that they were able to do that.”
For Bath, Priestland’s touchline conversion miss, his first since November 21, brought to an end his Premiership record sequence of 36 consecutive successful kicks. But his injury, added to that of De Glanville, and on top of Tian Schoeman’s longterm problem, could give Hooper a headache at fly-half going forwards. Bath: De Glanville; McConnochie, Joseph, Clark, Muir; Priestland, B Spencer; J Schoeman, Dunn, Thomas, McNally, Stooke, Reid, Underhill, Mercer. Replacements: Bailey for de Glanville (31), Cokanasiga for Muir (28), Chudley for Priestland (43), Verden for J Schoeman (71), Walker for Dunn (51), Cordwell for Thomas (71), Ellis for McNally (55), Staddon for Underhill (55).
Scorers – Tries: Muir 2, Dunn 2, Mercer, B Spencer, Clark. Cons: Priestland 5, Bailey.
Worcester: David; Ashton, O Morris, Butler, Humphreys; Smith, Simpson; Thomas, Miller, J Morris, A Kitchener, Batley, Hill, Kvesic, Dodd. Replacements: Venter for David (29), Hougaard for Simpson (54), Waller for Thomas (47), Annett for Miller (47), van Dyk for J Morris (55), Clegg for A Kitchener (61), Du Preez for Kvesic (53). Not Used: Searle.
Scorers – Tries: Batley, Humphreys 2, Waller. Cons: Smith.
Referee: Adam Leal (RFU).