Van Graan's Bath move closer to the top spot
SATURDAY WRAP: England international Henry Arundell scored four tries as Bath tightened their grip on second place in the Prem with a dominant 69-12 home victory over Newcastle.
By ending a run of three straight losses, Bath closed to within four points of leaders Northampton while pulling six points clear of third-placed Leicester ahead of the Tigers’ clash with Sale on Sunday and crunch trip to the Recreation Ground.
England wing Arundell crossed twice as Bath were unstoppable in racing to a 31-0 lead with five tries before half-time and Santiago Carreras was among those who got in on the act with six more following the break.
Newcastle finally managed to respond with a brace of tries from Alex Hearle but there was no real crumb of comfort the Red Bulls could take from another heavy defeat.
Ted Hill got the scoring under way for Bath when he dived across the line in the corner in the eighth minute after fine work by Charlie Ewels.
It was swiftly followed by the first of Arundell’s tries as he collected Cameron Redpath’s pass and raced over with 12 minutes on the clock.
England wing Arundell doubled his tally midway through the first half after neat link-up play with Finn Russell, who this time nailed the conversion to make it 17-0.
More excellent play by Russell contributed towards Redpath’s score in the 24th minute and Josh Bayliss got in on the act two minutes later.
It ensured Bath held a huge lead at the break, but Newcastle returned with improved intensity and were able to get off the mark after 57 minutes when Hearle finished off after fine initial carry by Amanaki Mafi.
Newcastle’s solitary try sparked Bath back into life and Arundell completed a hat-trick with a smart burst of pace in the corner before the visitors responded.
During an end-to-end period, Hearle grabbed his second score for Newcastle and Carreras went over for Bath for a fourth try of the match in a seven-minute period.
Bath finished with aplomb when Carreras collected Arundell’s pass to clinch his second try in the 68th minute and creator turned scorer four minutes later to round off a superb individual display.
Replacement hooker Dan Frost delighted the Rec crowd with a fine finish from 30 metres, but Chris Harris had the final say before Russell kicked the extras to secure a comprehensive triumph.
Rotimi Segun’s early brace eased Saracens towards a 30-14 victory over Gloucester at the StoneX Stadium that put them back in the mix for the Gallagher Prem play-offs.
The door was opened by fourth-placed Exeter’s defeat against Harlequins earlier on Saturday, and against a Cherry and Whites side that offered little, the six-time champions’ fourth win in a row never looked in doubt.
Sarries are now four points behind the Chiefs in the standings, their late-season surge meaning their outgoing director of rugby Mark McCall still has a chance of signing off with another title.
The scores and scorers
Bath 69-12 Newcastle
The scorers:
For Bath:
Tries: Hill, Arundell 4, Redpath, Bayliss, Carreras 2, Frost, Harris
Cons: Russell 7
For Newcastle:
Tries: Hearle 2
Con: Connon
Teams:
Bath: 15 Santi Carreras, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Henry Arundell, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer (captain), 8 Miles Reid, 7 Guy Pepper, 6 Josh Bayliss, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Ted Hill, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Dan Frost, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Vilikesa Sela, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Sam Underhill, 21 Tom Carr-Smith, 22 Max Ojomoh, 23 Alfie Barbeary
Newcastle: 15 Josh Hodge, 14 Harrison Obatoyinbo, 13 Rhys Beeckmans, 12 Sammy Arnold, 11 Alex Hearle, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Simón Benítez Cruz, 8 Fergus Lee-Warner, 7 Tom Christie, 6 Adam Scott, 5 John Hawkins, 4 Freddie Clarke, 3 Murray McCallum, 2 George McGuigan (c), 1 Connor Hancock
Replacements: 16 Ollie Fletcher, 17 Jamie Clark, 18 Adam Brocklebank, 19 Jamie Hodgson, 20 Amanaki Mafi, 21 James Elliott, 22 Ethan Grayson, 23 Christian Wade
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant Referees: Hamish Grant, James Clarke
TMO: Andrew Jackson
Harlequins 41-24 Exeter
The scorers:
For Harlequins:
Tries: Kenningham, Northmore, Murley, Porter, Evans, Wenger
Cons: Smith 3
Pen: Smith
For Exeter:
Tries: Ridl, Varney, Norey, Ikitau
Cons: Slade 2
Teams:
Harlequins: 15 Jamie Benson, 14 Cameron Anderson, 13 Luke Northmore, 12 Bryn Bradley, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Lucas Friday, 8 Alex Dombrandt (c), 7 Jack Kenningham, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 Elliot Williams, 4 Zach Carr, 3 Pedro Delgado, 2 Sam Riley, 1 Will Hobson
Replacements: 16 Jack Musk, 17 Boris Wenger, 18 Ollie Streeter, 19 Jonny Green, 20 Seb Driscoll, 21 Will Evans, 22 Will Porter, 23 Rodrigo Isgró
Exeter: 15 Olly Woodburn, 14 Paul Brown-Bampoe, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Campbell Ridl, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Ross Vintcent, 7 Christ Tshiunza, 6 Tom Hooper, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 Dafydd Jenkins (c), 3 Josh Iosefa-Scott, 2 Max Norey, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Joseph Dweba, 17 Ethan Burger, 18 Bachuki Tchumbadze, 19 Rusi Tuima, 20 Finn Worley Brady, 21 Tom Cairns, 22 Will Haydon-Wood, 23 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso
Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant Referees: Christophe Ridley, Veryan Boscawen
TMO: Dean Richards
Saracens 30-14 Gloucester
The scorers:
For Saracens:
Tries: Segun 2, Earl, Dan
Cons: Burke, Farrell
Pens: Burke 2
For Gloucester:
Tries: Joseph 2
Cons: C. Atkinson 2
Teams:
Saracens: 15 Max Malins, 14 Noah Caluori, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Olly Hartley, 11 Rotimi Segun, 10 Fergus Burke, 9 Charlie Bracken, 8 Tom Willis, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Theo McFarland, 5 Nick Isiekwe, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 3 Marcus Street, 2 Jamie George, 1 Rhys Carre
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Alec Clarey, 19 Hugh Tizard, 20 Nathan Michelow, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Tobias Elliott
Gloucester: 15 George Barton, 14 Will Joseph, 13 Max Llewellyn, 12 Seb Atkinson (c), 11 Ben Loader, 10 Charlie Atkinson, 9 Caolan Englefield, 8 Will Trenholm, 7 James Venter, 6 Freddie Thomas, 5 Matías Alemanno, 4 Arthur Clark, 3 Afo Fasogbon, 2 Seb Blake, 1 Val Rapava Ruskin
Replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Danny Eite, 20 Deian Gwynne, 21 Jack Clement, 22 Mikey Austin, 23 Josiah Edwards-Giraud
Referee: Adam Leal
Assistant Referees: George Selwood, Greg Macdonald
TMO: Peter Allan
