3 weeks ago
27
Those who prefer their rugby cagey and tactical would have left a sold-out Rec disappointed. Everyone else was treated to 11 tries – seven of them scored in the first half – as ball carriers ran over papier-mache tacklers and through porous defensive lines. And though it was thrilling, it often felt too easy for those on the attack, especially Finn Russell, who kept Bath ticking throughout their seven-try bonus-point win.
The Scot outshone Marcus Smith, who was shown a yellow card in the first half and then shunted from fly-half to full-back when he returned from the sin-bin. No doubt Lions coach Andy Farrell was keeping note.
Not that Smith could be blamed for the result. His teammates were bossed at the breakdown and could barely get a touch of the ball across a frenetic opening 24 minutes that saw four Bath players cross the line and two Harlequins players sent to the bin. With a 26-0 lead the home side had effectively secured the contest.
Joe Cokanasiga got things going with a strong finish in the corner, holding off the challenge of Rodrigo Isgro, who was lucky to escape a straight red for a head-on-head hit. With the man advantage, Bath tore through Harlequins, with Ted Hill providing the finishing touch after several dominant carries.
Then Smith was shown yellow for disrupting clean ball close to his own line and Ross Molony’s close-range score widened the gap before Will Muir rounded off a blistering break on the left ignited by Max Ojomoh and the impressive Tom de Glanville.
Harlequins would have been hoping for a repeat of the heist they pulled off back in 2021 when they overturned a 28-0 deficit to beat Bath in the Premiership semi-final at Ashton Gate. Luke Northmore started and finished a move and prop Titi Lamositele rumbled over to provide echoes of the game dubbed ‘Bristanbul’. Bath, though, would have the final word of the half with a second for Muir on the left following a 30-metre run from hooker Tom Dunn, who gathered a lucky bounce off a contestable kick.
It was more of the same in the second half. Fin Baxter, one of three returning England players alongside Smith and Chandler Cunningham-South, barrelled over to keep the faint hope of a comeback alive. That looked less likely when Ojomoh burst from midfield to snatch an interception and run home from 80 metres. Russell’s extras stretched the lead to 19.
after newsletter promotion
Russell had the ball on a string throughout. His job was made easier thanks to Bath’s dominance in contact that was maintained with the introduction of four forwards before the hour, including the South African prop Francois van Wyk, who ran a superb support line off Ben Spencer’s shoulder to cap off a swift counterattack from an aimless box kick from Danny Care.
Bath could have had more were it not for Cameron Redpath’s knock-on in space and Cokanasiga’s forward pass to Spencer on the wing. Instead it was Sam Riley with the final try four minutes from time to secure a bonus point for Harlequins.
