Six-try Bath prove too much for Bristol in derby

The Prem.

Bath (19) 40

Cons: Russell 5; Tries: Pepper, Repath, Du Toit, Cokanasiga, Underhill, Arundell

Bristol (15) 15

In a fierce west country derby at the Rec, Bath defeated Bristol 40-15 to advance to second place in the Prem ahead of the league’s four-week break.

The majority of the first half saw Bristol’s neighbors on the back foot, giving them a 10-point lead thanks to tries from Kalaveti Ravouvou and Gabriel Oghre and Sam Worsley.

However, as a result of Ollie Lawrence and Cameron Redpath’s additional efforts to extend Guy Pepper’s earlier four-point lead, Bath quickly rallied and scored twice in four minutes.

With less than one minute left before the game’s end, Ravouvou scored with a penalty kick from Finn Russell’s clearance, which was charged down, immediately put Bristol on the front foot.

Bath’s first attack was delayed, and their second followed, but Bath’s third came through as a result, as the Bears’ clearance only reached Russell on the halfway point and Pepper side-stepped Ravouvou before swan diving over to level the score.

Bristol capitalized as the situation worsened.

After a one-two with Oghre, who had thrown the ball straight at him, the scrum-half deftly crept to the front of the line-out and ran over Bath completely off guard.

As the conflict turned into scuffles, Sam Worsley then kicked back three more points from the tee to make it 15-5.

However, Russell chipped the ball for Lawrence to collect and touch down before immediately galvanizing Bath and pulling one back.

By the second half, Bath were relentless, camping Bristol in their own 22 and requiring constant defense until the clouds had cleared, the sky had risen, and Bath were battling it out.

Before Bath scored their bonus-point fourth try on 65 minutes, the television match official (TMO) checked two tries and determined knock-ons in both builds ups.

Cokanasiga caught Russell’s chip to give them an 11-point lead after Santiago Grondona was placed in the penalty box following a series of penalties and six Bath replacements who were immediately brought on.

Johann van Graan, the rugby head at Bath, said:

We had more in us, I thought, and I loved the determination to keep going.

They were ahead but very satisfying going in at half 19-15, “I don’t know where that 20 minutes of weather came from, that wind was almost impossible, they got ahead.”

It was a true 23-man effort before being cut short to none in the second half. When the TMO arrived, we were over the line twice.

They were so negative at their own try line, in my opinion, that they were lucky not to get multiple yellow cards. Six forwards, on the other hand, gave us a lot of energy.

Rugby director at Bristol, Pat Lam:

“The boys wanted to keep going and fighting for it for 65 minutes, and it was 19-15 with three minutes to go.”

Our penalty count for that game was 26, which is a significant penalty count. There were some significant swings in that game.

“The fight was wonderful. The character of the group is what has been extremely difficult during these four weeks, but one thing is really revealing.

The boys “put their bodies on the line,” according to what I’ve heard, between 230 and 100 tackles. Fitz Harding is a legend with 28 tackles and a few jackals in his arsenal.

Replacements: Ojomoh, Barbeary, Van Wyk, Stuart, Richards, Underhill, Carr-Smith, Tuipulotu, Van Wyk, Van Wyk, and Barbeary.

Sin bin: Van Wyk (81)

Bristol: Elizalde, Bates, Moroni, Janse van Rensburg, Ravouvou, Ravouvou, Worsley, Marmion, Genge, Oghre, Kloska, Rubiolo, Batley, S. Grondona, Harding (c), Mata.

Replacements: Fricker, Woolmore, Chawatama, Owen, B. Grondona, Lennon, Carrington, and Thacker.

Santiago Grondona (59) is sin bin.