Bath continues to dominate
WRAP: Leaders Bath maintained their imperious form in the Premiership with a 47-28 victory over Harlequins in front of another sell-out crowd at the Recreation Ground.
With 56 points from 13 matches, not to mention a massive points difference of 200, Bath are cruising towards the play-offs with a home semifinal already in their sights.
Two of their remaining fixtures are against the division’s bottom two clubs, Exeter and Newcastle.
Harlequins stayed in the fight for as long they could and fully deserved securing a try bonus point just minutes from full-time.
However, Bath had their bonus point wrapped up by the 22nd minute of a seven-try victory as they powered on at the summit.
Bath’s opening try came after just three minutes when Joe Cokanasiga crashed over in the corner, leaving Rodrigo Isgro nursing a head injury which referee Anthony Woodthorpe decided was down to his own flawed tackling technique. The Argentina wing was shown a yellow card for the clash of heads and never reappeared.
Finn Russell’s conversion was wide but he had a far easier kick to convert Ted Hill’s touchdown five minutes later, the England flanker breaking a tackle after Miles Reid’s pass.
With Jamie Benson on in place of Isgro, Marcus Smith was switched to fullback but he was promptly sent to the sin bin for a cynical slapdown on his own line. Bath tapped and drove for Ross Molony to force his way over and Russell’s conversion put his side 19-0 ahead.
Quins found themselves 26-0 down without even touching the ball again as Russell pulled the trigger from the restart and Will Muir brushed off two defenders to score 90 metres upfield. His fly-half landed the conversion from the touchline.
Even without Smith on the field, the visitors were dangerous on the counter and skipper Stephan Lewies put Luke Northmore over for a defiant score converted by Benson.
Prop Titi Lamositele grabbed another after heavy pressure on the Bath line, Smith adding the conversion, which brought Quins within 12 points.
However, Muir grabbed his second try of the match just before the break and Russell’s conversion pushed Bath further ahead, 33-14.
But the visitors were still in a tenacious mood after the break and England prop Fin Baxter barged over from close range, with Smith accurate from the tee again.
A Ben Spencer score at the other end was chalked off for a forward pass and Bath found themselves on the defensive once more – until Max Ojomoh intercepted a pass by Benson and raced 80 metres for the home side’s sixth try, converted by Russell.
Quins now began to feel the power of the Bath bench, typified by replacement prop Francois van Wyk who was up in support when Will Butt broke from halfway and Spencer provided the line.
Replacement hooker Sam Riley rewarded the visitors for their resilience with the bonus-point try after 76 minutes, with Smith adding the conversion.
Leicester Tigers could move for former England Under-20 flyhalf Orlando Bailey to replace Brive-bound Jamie Shillcock in what would be a much-needed boost in the transfer market.
* Seb Atkinson and Christian Wade both scored hat-tricks as Gloucester thrashed Bristol 53-28 in a thrilling display of attacking rugby.
George Skivington’s men moved third in the Premiership as they showed off their title credentials in style by running in nine tries.
Bristol scored four themselves and a bonus point but they were always playing catch-up.
* Greg Fisilau scored a last-minute try as Exeter claimed a 17-15 Gallagher Premiership victory over Newcastle in a dour bottom-of-the-table clash at Sandy Park.
The No.8’s touchdown was the only points of a second half where effort and endeavour were in no short supply but quality was at a premium.
With the Rugby Football Union recently confirming there would be no relegation this season, only pride was really at stake and that showed in this uninspiring battle.
Saturday’s scorers and scorers follow below …
Gallagher Premiership
Exeter Chiefs 17-15 Newcastle Falcons
Match Summary
The scorers
For Exeter Chiefs
Tries: Rigg, Moloney, Fisilau
Con: Slade
For Newcastle Falcons
Tries: Davies, Clark
Con: Connon
Pen: Connon
Yellow card: Richard Palframan (Newcastle Falcons, 34)
Teams
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Harvey Skinner, 14 Paul Brown-Bampoe, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Will Rigg, 11 Josh Hodge, 10 Ben Coen, 9 Stu Townsend, 8 Greg Fisilau, 7 Richard Capstick, 6 Martin Moloney, 5 Franco Molina, 4 Dafydd Jenkins (captain), 3 Josh Iosefa-Scott, 2 Jack Yeandle, 1 Scott Sio.
Replacements: 16 Max Norey, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Jimmy Roots, 19 Rusi Tuima, 20 Kane James, 21 Tom Cairns, 22 Tamati Tua, 23 Ben Hammersley.
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 14 Alex Hearle, 13 Connor Doherty, 12 Max Clark, 11 Ben Stevenson, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Joe Davis, 8 Callum Chick (captain), 7 Cameron Neild, 6 Freddie Lockwood, 5 Sebastian de Chaves, 4 John Hawkins, 3 Richard Palframan, 2 Jamie Blamire, 1 Adam Brocklebank.
Replacements: 16 Ollie Fletcher, 17 Micky Rewcastle, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Adam Scott, 20 Ollie Leatherbarrow, 21 Sam Stuart, 22 Kieran Wilkinson, 23 Oli Spencer.
Referee: Adam Leal
Assistant referees: Harry Walbaum, Simon Harding
TMO: David Rose
Bath 47-28 Harlequins
Match Summary
The scorers
For Bath
Tries: Cokanasiga, Hill, Molony, Muir 2, Ojomoh, Van Wyk
Cons: Russel 6
For Harlequins
Tries: Northmore, Lamositele, Baxter, Riley
Cons: Benson, Smith 3
Yellow cards: Rodrigo Isgro (Harlequins, 3), Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 18)
Teams
Bath: 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Max Ojomoh, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Will Muir, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer (captain), 8 Alfie Barbeary, 7 Miles Reid, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano.
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Guy Pepper, 20 Sam Underhill, 21 Tom Carr-Smith, 22 Will Butt, 23 Jaco Coetzee.
Harlequins: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Oscar Beard, 12 Luke Northmore, 11 Nick David, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Will Porter, 8 Chandler Cunningham-South, 7 Tom Lawday, 6 Jack Kenningham, 5 Stephan Lewies (captain), 4 Irne Herbst, 3 Titi Lamositele, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Fin Baxter.
Replacements: 16 Sam Riley, 17 Jordan Els, 18 Wyn Jones, 19 Joe Launchbury, 20 George Hammond, 21 Lucas Schmid, 22 Danny Care, 23 Jamie Benson.
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe
Assistant referees: James Clarke, Jonathan Healy
TMO: Dean Richards
Gloucester 53-28 Bristol Bears
Match Summary
The scorers
For Gloucester
Tries: Atkinson, Hathaway, Atkinson 3, Wade 3, Barton
Cons: Carreras, Atkinson, TG Williams 2
For Bristol Bears
Tries: Harding, Williams 2, Lahiff
Cons: Byrne 2, Williams, MacGinty
Teams
Gloucester: 15 Santi Carreras, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Josh Hathaway, 10 Charlie Atkinson, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Lewis Ludlow (captain), 6 Jack Clement, 5 Freddie Thomas, 4 Freddie Clarke, 3 Afo Fasogbon, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Val Rapava-Ruskin
Replacements: 16 Seb Blake, 17 Ciaran Knight, 18 Kirill Gotovtsev, 19 Cam Jordan, 20 Harry Taylor, 21 Caolan Englefield, 22 Will Butler, 23 George Barton
Bristol Bears: 15 Rich Lane, 14 Jack Bates, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 James Williams, 11 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Fitz Harding (captain), 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Josh Caulfield, 4 James Dun, 3 Max Lahiff, 2 Gabriel Oghre, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 Jimmy Halliwell, 19 Paddy Pearce, 20 Jake Heenan, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 AJ MacGinty, 23 Siva Naulago
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant referees: Craig Maxwell-Keys, Wayne Falla
TMO: Andrew Jackson
