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Match Report: Bath Rugby 13-19 Harlequins

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match summary

On a bitterly cold evening for The Rec faithful, it was Quins who came away with a win after delivering an unrelenting attack. 

A try from Will Butt closed the gap in the second half, but magic from Cadan Murley gave Quins a six-point lead. 

Fighting to the last second, it wasn’t to be for the hosts who came away with a losing bonus point.


team news

Ben Spencer was back to captain the Blue, Black and White to take on Harlequins.

England international Joe Cokanasiga made his first start for Bath since October which saw Matt Gallagher move to fullback.

Scotland international Cameron Redpath returned to inside centre, paired alongside Ollie Lawrence. 

Dave Attwood returned to the Gallagher Premiership after featuring in the Premiership Rugby Cup last weekend following his three-week ban, and Will Spencer also returned to the Premiership coming off the bench in the second row. 

Harlequins made just one change to their XV who secured victory over Gloucester last week with Oscar Beard coming in in the number 13 jersey. 

Bath Rugby: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Will Butt, 10 Orlando Bailey, 9 Ben Spencer (c); 1 Valeriy Morozov, 2 Tom Dunn, 3 D’Arcy Rae, 4 Dave Attwood, 5 Fergus Lee-Warner, 6 Ted Hill, 7 Miles Reid, 8 Josh Bayliss

Impact players: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Arthur Cordwell, 18 Johannes Jonker, 19 Will Spencer, 20 Tom Ellis, 21 Max Green, 22 Piers Francis, 23 Richard de Carpentier

Harlequins: 15 Nick David, 14 Cadan Marley, 13 Oscar Beard, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Danny Care; 1 Joe Marler, 2 Jack Walker, 3 Wilco Louw, 4 Dino Lamb, 5 Irne Herbst, 6 Jack Kenningham, 7 Will Evans, 8 Alex Dombrandt (c)

Replacements: 16 George Head, 17 Arthur Cordwell, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 George Hammond, 20 Archie White, 21 Lewis Gjaltema, 22 Will Edwards, 23 Lennox Anyanwu


first half

Kicking off under the Friday night lights at a very chilly Rec, the game’s first scrum came in the opening minute after pressure from Bath forced a Quins knock-on. 

A strong contest from both packs allowed Ben Spencer to kick the ball downfield for Quins fullback Nick David to break through the Bath line. Earning a scrum just outside the Bath 22, it was Quins captain Alex Dombrandt who got the first score of the game under the posts after a feed from Danny Care, converted cleanly by Tommy Allan.

Bath sent the ball deep from the restart and placed themselves down in Quins 22. David cleared into the stands for Tom Dunn to take the first line out of the evening. Sweeping the ball out through the pack, Ted Hill carried hard and Quins found themselves offside. Orlando Bailey kicked Bath’s first points of the game in front of the sticks sitting the score at 3-7.

Joe Cokanasiga found himself in possession from the restart and brazenly bounced off the Quins defence, but unluckily brought down inside the 22. The slippery conditions allowed Cokanasiga’s offload to go unclaimed allowing Quins to clear their lines. 

Gifting possession back to the visitors, referee Andrew Brace blew for crossing and Bath were soon having to switch to defence mode on their five-metre line. Managing to steal the ball from the line-out but they were pulled up for knocking the ball on.

After sweeping the ball out from the scrum, the visitors were dealt huge blows from Ollie Lawrence forcing Quins to play the long game and eventually claim their second try in the 23rd minute through the hands of outside centre Oscar Beard. With Allan missing the conversion the score sat at 3-12. 

Earning two penalties through Miles Reid and Josh Bayliss turnovers, Orlando Bailey shaved both kicks just wide of the posts and Bath trailed nine points at the break after staving off Quins relentless attack in the closing minutes of the first half. 

second half 

Getting Bath off a strong second half start, Will Butt replicated some of the magic he showed against Leicester and gave Bath their first try of the evening, closing the gap to 10-12. 

Ted Hill soon gave Bath another break and charged up the field galloping towards Quins defenders. Halting Bath’s momentum and holding up Fergus Lee-Warner in tackle, there wasn’t much the lock could do to escape the sandwich tackle and Quins were given a chance to kick to touch. 

Hunting down and interception, Cameron Redpath tried to claim the ball but an unlucky bounce for Bath landed in the hands of a speedy Caden Murley who darted amongst the Bath pack to cross over for Quins’ third, converted by Allan to take the score to 10-19. 

Earning a penalty from the restart, Bailey’s HIA replacement Piers Francis brought the hosts to within half a dozen and sat Bath within losing bonus point territory.  

Putting the Bath defenders to work once again, Quins ate up much of the home territory but it was Joe Cokanasiga and Miles Reid who put a shift in at the breakdown and earned the ball back. 

With Bath safely down in Quins’ half, it was Tom Dunn’s turn to drive through the back of the maul to try and touchdown but a Quins arm under the ball ruled the try out after a check from TMO Brian MacNeice.

Bath emptied their bench as the clock ticked into the 70th minute and big Will Spencer entered the pitch for his 50th cap. 

After marching Harlequins up the field from a Redpath turnover, Bath gifted possession back to the visitors allowing another of their opportunities to go begging.  

Making the most of a loose pass from Quins, Bath’s next chance came as Lawrence booted the ball downfield forcing Quins to kick the ball into touch to eliminate the immediate threat.  

Driving the ball from the back of the maul, Bath replicated their earlier misfortune with look to the TMO to decide if the Blue, Black and White had scored their second. Not to be, Andrew Brace determined it to be another held up scenario and gave Quins the goal line drop out. 

In what looked like another piece of final minute magic, Bath gathered momentum and found themselves with a two man advantage with just 60 seconds on the clock. Trying to hammer on the Quins’ try-line, referee Brace blew after Niall Annett got caught in the tackle and it was Quins who came away with the win.  

Bath earned a losing bonus point from their efforts and will be looking to work on eradicating the unforced errors as they compete in the European Challenge Cup next week against Glasgow Warriors. 


 

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Premiership

INJURY UPDATE | George Ford

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Sale Sharks can confirm that fly-half George Ford suffered a tear to his right quad during the early stages of the Gallagher Premiership round two game at Saracens on Saturday. Following a positive consultation with a specialist it was decided that George does not require surgery and he will now begin his rehab ahead of a busy period for club and country.

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Premiership

TEAM NEWS | Sale Sharks v Gloucester

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Alex Sanderson has made six changes to his starting XV to face Gloucester Rugby in the first game of the season under the Salford Stadium Friday night lights, while summer signing Le Roux Roets appears in a matchday squad for the first time (Discovery+, 7.45pm KO). 

Josh Beaumont, Ernst van Rhyn and Rouban Birch come into the pack following the round two defeat at Saracens, while Sam Bedlow, Will Addison and Arron Reed are picked in the backs to face George Skivington’s men. 

In total, 12 of the XV and 19 in the matchday 23 have come through or spent time in the Sharks Academy. 

The Sharks front-row remains intact from the trip to the StoneX as England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie lines up once again between 20-year-old Asher Opoku-Fordjour and loosehead Si McIntyre. 

Al has picked a towering second-row as Ben Bamber teams up with Josh Beaumont. 

With Ben and Tom Curry as well as JL du Preez all missing as they undergo their return to play protocols following head injuries, Ernst van Rhyn returns alongside fellow flanker Sam Dugdale and Birch at number 8. 

Gus Warr starts again at scrum-half but with George Ford injured (quad) he’ll have skipper Rob du Preez for company at half-back. After coming on as a replacement against Saracens, Bedlow starts alongside Addison, who makes his first start since re-joining the club in the summer.  

Speedster Arron Reed makes his first appearance of the season alongside Tom Roebuck and full-back Joe Carpenter. 

Hooker Ethan Caine, and props Tumy Onasanya and James Harper cover the front row from the replacements bench with England U20s lock Tom Burrow and summer signing Le Roux Roets covering the rest of the forwards. Nye Thomas, Tom Curtis and Waisea Nayacalevu cover the backs. 

Sale Sharks starting XV:

15. Joe Carpenter, 14. Tom Roebuck, 13. Will Addison, 12. Sam Bedlow, 11. Arron Reed, 10. Rob du Preez, 9. Gus Warr; 1. Si McIntyre, 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3. Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 4. Ben Bamber, 5. Josh Beaumont 6. Ernst van Rhyn, 7. Sam Dugdale, 8. Rouban Birch. 

Replacements: 

16. Ethan Caine, 17. Tumy Onasanya, 18. James Harper, 19. Tom Burrow, 20. Le Roux Roets, 21. Nye Thomas, 22. Tom Curtis, 23. Waisea Nayacalevu. 

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Premiership

TEAM NEWS | Sale Sharks v Saracens

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Injuries have forced Alex Sanderson to make three changes to his starting XV to face Saracens at the StoneX on Saturday (3.05pm KO, Saturday 28th September, live on TNT Sports). 

Si McIntyre replaces last week’s Player of the Match Bevan Rodd (hamstring), while Ben Bamber and Sam Dugdale come in for Ernst van Rhyn and Tom Curry who are both undergoing their return to play protocols after leaving the field during the round one win over Harlequins. 

With Sam Bedlow returning to the bench to make a 5-3 split, the matchday squad features 16 players who have come through or been involved with the Sale Sharks Academy. 

In the front-row, England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie lines up between 20-year-old Asher Opoku-Fordjour and returning loosehead McIntyre. 

Al has picked a towering second-row as Bamber teams up with Hyron Andrews. 

Openside flanker Ben Curry captains the side again and he and Dugdale will pack down either side of Jean-Luc du Preez at number 8. 

The backs are unchanged from the narrow win over Quins, with Gus Warr starting again at scrum-half alongside fly-half George Ford, and Rob du Preez and Waisea Nayacalevu outside them in the centres.  

Alex has picked a familiar back three once again with Tom O’Flaherty, Tom Roebuck and full-back Joe Carpenter hoping to provide the spark. 

The replacements bench is an exclusively Sharks Academy affair with hooker Ethan Caine, and props Tumy Onasanya and James Harper covering the front row. Josh Beaumont and Rouban Birch make up the rest of the forwards, while Nye Thomas, Bedlow and Will Addison cover the backs. 

Sale Sharks Starting lineup: 

15. Joe Carpenter, 14. Tom Roebuck, 13. Waisea Nayacalevu, 12. Rob du Preez, 11. Tom O’Flaherty, 10. George Ford, 9. Gus Warr; 1. Si McIntyre, 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3. Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 4. Ben Bamber, 5. Hyron Andrews, 6. Sam Dugdale, 7. Ben Curry ©, 8. Jean-Luc du Preez. 

Replacements: 

16. Ethan Caine, 17. Tumy Onasanya, 18. James Harper, 19. Josh Beaumont, 20. Rouban Birch, 21. Nye Thomas, 22. Sam Bedlow, 23. Will Addison. 

Images & Content from Sale Sharks Rugby


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