Bath player ratings: Scrum turns to ‘pure concrete’ as bench ‘blunts’ Sale Sharks biggest threat
Bath player ratings: Scrum turns to 'pure concrete' as bench 'blunts' Sale Sharks biggest threat
Bath defeated Sale Sharks 26-31 at CorpAcq Stadium on Sunday, as they reinforced their spot near the top of the PREM table.
Here are our Bath player ratings:
Backs
15 Tom de Glanville: Great work in the breakdown to win an early turnover penalty, but failed to capitalise with the ball in hand and was very quiet defensively, making just two tackles all match. 5
14 Joe Cokanasiga: Silly yellow card for a deliberate knock on, but elsewhere fantastic. He made 38 metres from just five carries, as he used his giant frame to dent the Sharks‘ defence. 7
13 Louie Hennessey-Booth: Knocked the ball on in the tackle early on, but quickly redeemed himself with a well-taken try. He was everywhere in attack, breaking the line twice as he carved open the Sharks’ defence, beating three defenders in the process. 8
12 Cameron Redpath: Made a clever interception early on and ran well when in possession, but his defence felt flaky today, uncharacteristically missing three tackles. 5
11 Will Muir: Turned over three times and missed two tackles. His work in the air was solid, but that doesn’t make up for a sub-par outing. 4
10 Santiago Carreras: A busy, busy day for the Argentine star. Awfully booted the ball out on the full in the first half, and was turned over a disastrous five times. However, he did win a ruck turnover and assisted two tries – so, swings and roundabouts. 5
9 Tom Carr Smith: Played quickly from the base, but failed to add the direction that Bath fans have come to expect with Ben Spencer. Box kicks became a thing of nightmares after a while, barely generating any distance. 5
Geoff Parling issues fresh apology after facing backlash for TNT incident
Forwards
8 Miles Reid: Carried hard, but it wasn’t quite the world-beating performance we’ve come to expect from the powerful number eight. 6
7 Ethan Staddon: A brilliant performance from the young flanker who put down a real marker for his spot moving forward. He dominated the lineout and topped the charts for tackles completed. With such competition for the number seven shirt at the club, Staddon will have been pleased with his contribution today. 8
6 Ted Hill: Not a terrible outing by any stretch, but would expect more from the incredibly talented flanker. The 27-year-old beat a couple of defenders and worked hard around the pitch, but failed to make any lasting impact on the game. 6
5 Ross Molony: Like his lock partner, it was a very underwhelming performance from the former Leinster star. He failed to involve himself on either side of the ball in a match where his experience and leadership should have proved vital. 5
4 Will Jeanes: He carried hard, but failed to make much in the way of yardage, and defensively, he was extremely quiet, yet still missed a couple of tackles. The 22-year-old would have wanted to have made much more of an impact. 4
3 Billy Sela: Despite winning an early scrum penalty, he didn’t have his finest day at the office. He was outmuscled by Bevan Rodd in the scrum and, as a result, only had 35 minutes on the field. 4
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.
2 Dan Frost: It was a mixed bag for the former Exeter Chiefs hooker. He carried hard, tackled well, and pirouetted splendidly to score his try. But he was let down by his discipline at times, spending time in the sin bin and giving away two needless penalties. 6
1 Scott Kirk: Like his prop partner, he struggled in the scrum and was hooked after 35 minutes. In only his fourth ever PREM appearance, he looked well out of his depth at times. 3
Replacements: The early introduction of Beno Obano and Thomas du Toit changed the game for the visitors. Their crumbling scrum became one of pure concrete, as they turned the Sharks’ biggest threat blunt. Alfie Barbeary had a major impact in the collision area, scoring an impressive close-quarters try. While Bernard van der Linde also got his name on the scoresheet, collecting the ball after Kepu Tuipulotu brilliantly beat two players and put in a spectacular kick ahead. 10