Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Bath head to Harlequins with the chance to go top
BATH Rugby travel to Harlequins today in Round 14 of the 2023/24 Gallagher Premiership.
The Blue, Black and White have a chance to go top of the league after Sunday’s impressive 42-24 win over Sale Sharks which propelled them back up to second in the table heading into the weekend.
Harlequins are looking to bounce back after a drubbing by derby rivals Saracens at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last weekend, going down 52-7 and in midweek the club confirmed that that director of performance development Tabai Matson will leave The Stoop at the end of the season.
On facing Harlequins, Bath head of rugby Johann van Graan said:“Harlequins have some of the best players in the league and we will have to do a lot of things well to keep them contained.
“They are very good from broken field; they have a lot of quality to both run the ball well and kick in behind to put us under pressure and play from the back. Players like Andre Esterhuizen give them a massive amount of gain line success alongside Marcus Smith who gives their back line quick ball, it’s very difficult to handle.
“We will have to be very disciplined in defence, any mistakes and Danny Care will put us under pressure with his quick tap penalties and they’ve got a lot of pace in their backs that we need to be wary of.”
Bath number eight Alfie Barbeary was removed at half time with a tight hamstring on Sunday during Bath’s win over Sale.
On that, Van Graan said: “It was precautionary and the good news is that Alfie is available for selection this weekend. If he comes through training then he will be available.
“Looking back, we reviewed our decision-making process at halftime and that was very sound.
“There was good communication from our medical team who made a good call. As a coach you’ve got to make those calls.”
Van Graan has made five changes to his starting XV that took to The Rec in Round 13.
Van Graan has been able to make changes through a combination of squad rotation and national rest following the Guinness Six Nations, alongside tactical and technical adjustments based on the opposition.
South African lock Jacques du Plessis is set to make his first competitive start in blue, black and white in what will also be his Premiership debut.
International trio Beno Obano, Tom Dunn and Thomas du Toit form the front row.
Charlie Ewels takes the second lock position alongside du Plessis.
Miles Reid and Jaco Coetzee are promoted to the starting line-up in the backrow alongside Ted Hill
Ben Spencer and Finn Russell retain their positions as half-backs
In the centres, Max Ojomoh comes in and is partnered by Ollie Lawrence. This is Ojomoh’s first Premiership appearance since returning from England camp.
Will Muir, Ruaridh McConnochie and Matt Gallagher make up the back three.
The bench sees the return of Will Stuart who was rested last weekend off the back of international duty.
Juan Schoeman and Niall Annett make up the replacement front row.
Elliott Stooke, Josh Bayliss and Alfie Barbeary complete the replacement forwards, with Bayliss fresh from committing his long-term future to his boyhood club earlier this week.
Louis Schreuder and Orlando Bailey take the remaining spots as van Graan’s replacement backs in a 6-2 bench split.
The Harlequins forward pack features a reshuffled front-row with props Fin Baxter and Dillon Lewis starting alongside hooker Jack Walker.
Joe Launchbury and George Hammond maintain their second-row partnership, with Stephan Lewies and Will Evans on the flanks. Alex Dombrandt resumes at number eight.
Danny Care and Marcus Smith maintain their half-back combo, with Andre Esterhuizen and Oscar Beard in the centres.
Tyrone Green continues at fullback with Cadan Murley and new Italian international Louis Lynagh named on the wings.
The replacement include the experienced duo of Joe Marler and Will Collier, with centre Lennox Anyanwu and Cameron Anderson returning to the matchday 23.
Harlequins:
15. Tyrone Green, 14. Louis Lynagh, 13. Oscar Beard, 12. Andre Esterhuizen, 11. Cadan Murley,
10. Marcus Smith, 9. Danny Care, 1. Fin Baxter, 2. Jack Walker, 3. Dillon Lewis, 4. Joe Launchbury, 5. George Hammond, 6. Stephan Lewies (Captain), 7. Will Evans, 8. Alex Dombrandt
Replacements:
16. Sam Riley, 17. Joe Marler, 18. Will Collier, 19. Irne Herbst, 20. Will Trenholm, 21. Max Green,
22. Lennox Anyanwu, 23. Cameron Anderson
Bath Rugby:
15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Ruaridh McConnochie, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Max Ojomoh, 11 Will Muir, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer; 1 Beno Obano, 2 Tom Dunn, 3 Thomas du Toit, 4 Jacques du Plessis (debut), 5 Charlie Ewels, 6 Ted Hill, 7 Miles Reid, 8 Jaco Coetzee
16 Niall Annett, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Elliott Stooke, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Alfie Barbeary