Bath v Bristol Bears - Teams and Prediction

SEMIFINAL PREVIEW: Bath Director of Rugby Johann van Graan will have a familiar message for his side before they face Bristol Bears in their Premiership semifinal on Friday.

Bath will be the favourites after they ended the league phase on top of the standings with 14 wins from 18 matches.

Bristol finished fourth with 10 wins and they found themselves 14 points behind the league leaders.

However, Bristol recorded two wins over Bath in the Premiership this season.

They beat Van Graan’s side 36-26 in October before a 36-14 home win last month.

Bristol also recorded a 40-21 win over Bath in the Premiership Rugby Cup in February.

Bath find themselves trying to complete a treble by winning the Premiership, having already claimed the Premiership Rugby Cup and Challenge Cup.

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Insane 🤯

Can @BristolBears upset the odds at @BathRugby? 👀#GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/i9X0ZJ0pmL

— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) June 4, 2025

“This is our third semifinal we’ve played this season and I’ll just say the usual – make sure you’re disciplined, stick to what you do and make sure you perform on the day,” Van Graan told BBC Radio Bristol.

There’s a familiar look to Bath’s matchday squad with props Beno Obano and Will Stuart lining up with hooker Tom Dunn in the front row.

Quinn Roux and Charlie Ewels will form the second row partnership.

In the back row,  Ted Hill, who is set to make his 50th Bath appearance, and Guy Pepper will wear the No.6 and No.7 jerseys, respectively,

Alfie Barbeary completes the pack at No.8.

Captain Ben Spencer will lead out the Blue, Black and White in front of an expected sold-out Rec, starting alongside flyhalf Finn Russell.

Cameron Redpath, back in the side having recovered from an ankle injury, joins Max Ojomoh as Bath’s centres.

Van Graan completes his starting XV with a back three featuring wings Will Muir and Joe Cokanasiga and Tom de Glanville at fullback.

The front three replacements are hooker Niall Annett and props Francois van Wyk and Thomas du Toit, who is also one away from 50 appearances in the club’s famous colours.

Ross Molony, Miles Reid and Josh Bayliss are the other impact forwards with backs Tom Carr-Smith and Ciaran Donoghue completing a six-two split.

Lock Ewels is expecting Bristol to make life difficult for them during the 80 minutes.

“They’re a very good team, that’s what I’ve taken from those matches,” he said.

“Obviously, there’s an extra level as it’s a derby around the fans.

“We’ve played them a few times this season – in the cup, twice in the league. At Cardiff, we played different teams against them.

“They will be very well prepped, we’ll be very well prepped and we’ll be really looking forward to it.”

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#SPOTLIGHT: Johann van Graan has been rewarded for transforming Bath’s fortunes. 👇#PremiershipRugby #Bath #SouthAfrica https://t.co/9pwFehmWNg

— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) June 4, 2025

Meanwhile, prop Ellis Genge returns to action for Bristol Bears.

The England international, who missed last weekend’s emphatic victory over Harlequins at Ashton Gate, is one of three changes to the pack, with James Dun and centurion Steven Luatua also recalled to the starting XV.

Pat Lam names an unchanged backline for the derby showdown with the league leaders, with another centurion, Harry Randall and AJ MacGinty continuing their halfback partnership and Gabriel Ibitoye and Kalaveti Ravouvou – with 24 Premiership tries between them this season – on the wings.

Benhard Janse van Rensburg is set for his 50th competitive appearance for the club, partnering James Williams in the midfield.

The Bears head to the Rec looking to make history by booking their place in a maiden Premiership Final, having appeared in three previous semifinals in the top-flight.

Lam has cited his team’s record against Bath as a reason to be positive that they can overcome that hurdle.

“I don’t have to do anything [to motivate the team], the local boys take over and let them sort it out,” he said.

“It’s a record we’re proud of. We’ve played them 14 times since we’ve been back in the Premiership and won 11. [Of] two we have lost; one was in the 82nd minute and the other was by a point. We know how to do that.

“Saying that Bath have a phenomenal squad. They’ve spent more than we have on our squad.

“Johann [van Graan] has done a brilliant job and that’s going to be really tough for us, but we’re going to embrace it.

“Everyone will be talking about Bath [due to their treble bid] and rightly so. For us, we’ll just get our heads down and make sure we prepare right.

“No doubt we’re underdogs in everyone’s eyes, but we’ll go there and see what happens.”

Prediction

@rugby365com: Bath by six points.

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 Guy Pepper, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano.
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Miles Reid, 21 Tom Carr-Smith, 22 Ciaran Donoghue, 23 Josh Bayliss.

Bristol Bears: 15 Noah Heward, 14 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 James Williams, 11 Gabriel Ibitoye, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Fitz Harding (captain), 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Joe Batley, 4 James Dun, 3 George Kloska, 2 Gabriel Oghre, 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Pedro Rubiolo, 20 Santiago Grondona, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Jack Bates.

Date: Friday, June 6
Venue: The Recreation Ground, Bath
Kick-off: 19.45 (18.45 GMT)
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant referees: Luke Pearce & Anthony Woodthorpe
TMO: Andrew Jackson

Sources: BBC, Premiership Rugby, Bath & Bristol Bears