Bath v Harlequins: Five takeaways as ‘cheat code’ Santi Carreras bounces back from last season’s heartbreak to steal the show on the opening night
Bath's Santi Carreras and an inset of Harelquins' Chandler Cunningham-South.
Following Bath’s 33-17 victory over Harlequins in their PREM Rugby opener at the Twickenham Stoop, here are our five takeaways.
Top line
Bath flexed their superior depth and ruthlessness at the Twickenham Stoop in their 2026/27 season opener, scoring five tries to the host’s three, producing a trademark methodical and tactically astute performance to see off a brave Harlequins outfit.
Santi Carreras bounced back from the disappointment of last season’s semi-final defeat to produce a Man of the Match shift against Quins on the opening night of PREM Rugby, which included a truly ridiculous try, while Bath backed their power game to strangle the hosts into submission.
Dan du Preez got the ball rolling for Johan van Graan’s charges, scoring from close range on his debut for the West Country outfit after his move from Sale Sharks. Will Porter wiggled through the Bath defence to score Quins’ opening try of the season but the visitors were quick to respond through Joe Cokanasiga.
The see-saw nature of the opening 20 minutes continued as Porter sliced through the Bath defence once again and teed up Chandler Cunningham-South who had an easy run to the line. That had Harelquins’ tails up and they looked like they may take the lead before the break but Carreras had other ideas as he punted Tyrone Green’s attempted pass to Oscar Beard, regathered the ball one-handed and raced away to score what will surely be the try of the weekend.
It was a telling contribution from the Argentine as that was a 14-point swing and gave Johann Van Graan’s charges an extra boost before the break with Dan Frost crossing after the 40-minute mark as the men in Blue, Black and White took a 28-10 lead into the break.
The second half was a lot less helter-skelter as Pedro Delgado rounded off a stunning Harlequins’ try in the 44th minute while Bath’s only points came in the 71st minute when Ewan Richards emerged with the ball over the line after a powerful maul.
Quins rediscover their attacking mojo
In the off-season, Harlequins replaced club legend and attack coach Nick Evans with another New Zealander, landing the enormous coup of Hurricanes attack guru Brad Cooper.
He arrived at the Stoop off the back of a historic record-breaking season with the ‘Canes, where they averaged 41 points and 6.4 tries per game through the regular season. The Wellington-based club also became the first Super Rugby team to surpass 100 tries in a single campaign (114 total), en route to winning their first title since 2016.
Cooper arrived with a glittering CV and on today’s evidence, is a perfect fit for the Famous Quarters who are renowned for their attacking prowess, something that hasn’t been a feature of their game in recent seasons. Evans built a reputation as one of the best and brightest young coaches after hanging up his playing boots but Quins were far more defensive and attacked with far less freedom last season in particular.
However, Cooper is already changing that with Harlequins enjoying fantastic periods on attack and were brave enough to keep ball in hand inside their own half. Delgado’s try was a perfect example of just that, while Porter thrived in the new attacking structures.
Quins have gone through a coaching restructuring and recruited the help of legendary Crusaders boss and ex-Wallabies head coach Robbie Deans in a bid to improve on a woeful ninth-place finish last season. Today we saw the early signs of improvement against one of this season’s favourites to win the title. Sure, it wasn’t perfect; we shouldn’t expect it to be already, but there was a feel of Harlequins of old, keeping in mind that they were without the services of their main number 10, Marcus Smith.
Cheat code Santi Carreras
A moment that every fan at the Stoop will never forget. In the 32nd minute, the Famous Quarters were on the attack, in a threatening position inside Bath’s 22 as Bryn Bradley freed up Tyrone Green down the left flank. The South African had the simplest of two-on-ones with Oscar Beard on his outside, but unfortunately that one was Santi Carreras.
The Argentine then produced a moment of utter brilliance as he volleyed Green’s attempted pass, sprinted after the ball, caught it one-handed on the sprint while avoiding the touchline, and cantered away to score an early contender for try of the season.
It was a ludicrous bit of skill, execution and sheer class, simply outrageous and perhaps something akin to what Van Graan had been talking about in the build-up to the match.
“A week ago in training, he had a purple patch where, for 20 minutes, he was the best player on the planet. Some of the stuff he was doing was amazing,” the Bath boss said.
Not only was it an outrageous try, but it was one that swung the momentum of the match squarely in Bath’s favour. Before the Puma booted the ball, the visitors held a slender four-point advantage thanks to Finn Russell’s accuracy from the tee. The Scotsman added the extras on Carreras’ score, giving Bath an 11-point buffer, which they made 18 before the half-time whistle.
Early seasons wobbles
Something that impacted both teams. While there were breathtaking actions throughout the game, Harlequins and Bath lacked accuracy in several departments, most notably the set-pieces. Both lineouts faltered time and time again while Karl Dickson ordered the scrum to be reset multiple times.
The two lineouts operated around 70% for the opening hour of action and while there was an element of excellent contesting, the lack of synchrony was more evident.
There was also a handful of soft handling errors, unkind passes and overcooked kicks from both teams but nothing too concerning for either sets of coaching teams as it can simply be put down to rustiness and lack of meaningful match minutes.
Bath’s winning habit
Winning is a habit and one that Van Graan has instilled in this team since his arrival from Munster. There were times in this match where Harlequins really threatened the Bath defence and looked as though they might break out and take the lead, but instead the visitors dug deep, stayed in the fight and found a way to win.
The 16-point winning margin doesn’t quite tell the full story of the match but it does illustrate how Bath are able to take control of a fixture and find a way to win. Their 22-metre entry conversion rate was a lowly 2.54, meaning that they were wasteful once they got into the final quarter of the pitch, but it was telling that they racked up 13 entries in total and piled the pressure on the hosts.
Quins can be proud of their defensive efforts and improved attacking performance, but it was another frustrating day out at the Stoop for the club’s faithful.
The Famous Quarters’ focus now shifts to next weekend’s fixture against Gloucester at Kingsholm while Bath will be out for revenge when they host Exeter Chiefs at the Rec, the team that ended their title defence last time out.