Bath Keep Treble Dream Alive – Bath v Bristol Bears Review
Bath remain on course in their pursuit of a first English title since 1996, and the final piece of a treble after seeing off west country rivals Bristol Bears with four tries in a 34-20 win.
Bath Rugby
Bristol Bears
Hill (41'), Cokanasiga (48'), Muir (54'), Ojomoh (59')
Tries
Dun (17'), Rensburg (73')
Russell (42', 49', 55', 60')
Conversions
MacGinty (18'), Byrne (73')
Russell (22', 37')
Penalties
MacGinty (12', 40')
Bath remain on course in their pursuit of a first English title since 1996, and the final piece of a treble after seeing off west country rivals Bristol Bears with four tries in a 34-20 win.
It puts them into next Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership Final, a year after they lost to Northampton Saints, and three years after they finished bottom of the table. They will await the winners of Leicester Tigers and Sale Sharks who meet on Saturday.
Bristol may have won both matches this season, but they couldn’t live with their rivals from 12 miles away once they raised their intensity in the second half.
Ted Hill, Joe Cokanasiga, Will Muir, and Max Ojomoh scored Bath’s tries, and Finn Russell weighed in with four conversions and two penalties.
EARLY POINTS
Bristol were soon into their stride and after finding their rhythm first, AJ MacGinty opened the scoring with a simple penalty.
They scored the first try soon after. Kalaveti Ravouvou and Viliame Mata led a counterattack, and after the ball went left, it came back inside where James Dun galloped through a gap in Bath’s defence.
Russell put Bath on the scoresheet after Ravouvou couldn’t resist sticking out a foot as Ben Spencer took a quick tap penalty.
It was all Bath managed while the Fijian kicked his heels. In truth Bristol should have added another three points with a straightforward penalty. They opted to kick to the corner, but Gabriel Oghre’s throw was woeful, and Bath cleared.
Three times Benhard van Rensburg came up with big moments to keep Bath’s attack at bay.
Just before halftime the Bears defence held out again, but a Television Match Official (TMO) call gave Russell another simple penalty to kick.
By then, Bears scrumhalf Harry Randell – the man responsible for their high tempo – had left the fray with an shoulder injury. No matter, MacGinty’s second penalty meant Bristol had the last word before halftime.
STEPPING ON THE GAS
Bath didn’t hang around in the second half and Hill’s try and Russell’s conversion drew the hosts level.
Hill then hauled down Ravouvou to stop a certain try, and when Cokanasiga beat the Fijian to Tom de Glanville’s grubber the Recreation Ground was rocking and the hosts licking their lips in anticipation.
MacGinty was pinged at a breakdown, and while the forwards couldn’t break through, when the ball went wide, Muir held off Noah Heward to score.
Everything was working as Bath raised the intensity. Kicks went where they were aimed, and chasers swarmed Bristol’s back three to stop easy exits and force errors.
Spencer forced another yellow card, this time for Randell’s replacement Kieran Marmion. Bath’s recycling was rapid and Ojomoh was the beneficiary of Russell’s short pass to crash over.
With Marmion in the bin Gabriel Ibitoye moved inside to fill in at scrumhalf.
Ellis Genge and Harry Thacker were held up over the line, but Bath’s defence were swarming midfield and stopping Bristol from finding their rhythm. When they did get the ball wide there were defenders galore.
Van Rensburg gave the Bears hope after starting and finishing a move, but a forward pass from Harry Byrne stopped another Bristol attack and left Bath to see out the remaining minutes.