Newcastle Red Bulls v Bath: Five takeaways as Frost nips in for pre-Christmas double before ‘flex of epic proportions’ from Johann van Graan

Following a 50-14 victory for Bath over Newcastle Red Bulls in the PREM on Sunday, here’s our five takeaways from the game at Kingston Park.

The top line

Bath brought up 50 points in their mid-season romp to Tyneside as they took Newcastle Red Bulls past a whole year since their last Prem win.

A comprehensive display from their starters, inspired by Player of the Match Dan Frost and his front-row colleagues, who scored Bath’s first four tries between them, laid a platform that Newcastle simply couldn’t rock, despite a spirited effort, especially for the first 50 minutes until Sammy Arnold was shown yellow and the floodgates opened.

That deluge came courtesy of a brutal bench impact from the Bath Bombs that took visitors to a new level, with Ben Spencer, Cam Redpath and Tom de Glanville combining to send the England nine over for the try of the match, with Ted Hill adding the final blow just at the end of the match. Will Butt and De Glanville were the other scorers, with the outstanding Ollie Leatherbarrow grabbing his debut try for Newcastle and Amanaki Mafi crossing for their other.

Bath, for the third Christmas running, will spend the festivities top of the table, with seven from six, on 31 points, three less than this time last year, but with one game less played.

It might seem all doom and gloom for Newcastle Red Balls but there were glimpses, from their back-row and half-backs, that they’re on their way to being competitive, but the bench impact killed them off and they still are a team that haven’t shared a Prem win together since a year ago today.

Piano pushers play

Has a Prem side ever grabbed a four try bonus-point courtesy wholly of their front-row forwards before? It’s a question for the stattos, but we can’t remember it happening across the tournament.

In truth it was a day for those piano pushers, the unsung heroes of the front-row; Frost helped himself to the first two, followed by a rumble from Archie Griffin and a short range effort from Francois van Wyk to complete a memorable day from the big boys, and one that they’ll undoubtedly remind all of the backs about on the long journey home down the A1(M).

Not content with his try-scoring efforts, the man known to all in the game as ‘Slak’ – Van Wyk- brought his very best kicking game up with him, slipping Bath out of a defensive set with a wonderful 40 metre touch-finder that any of Santi Carreras, Spencer or Finn Russell would have been mightily pleased with.

Add in another flawless scrummaging display from what is very much the Bath second string, one that showed precisely why they’ve only been penalised six times this season in the Prem and it’s safe to say that December lived up to its billing for the front-rowers – and here’s hoping they complete the cliché with a feast of propping proportions on Thursday – after this showing they thoroughly deserve it.

The game in stats

If you break this game down into raw stats, then the possession and territory suggests that there wasn’t much in it. 48% played 52% in possession, 54% played 46% in territory, and carrying efforts showed that both sides hit over 50 retained efforts at ruck time – precisely what you’d expect from professional sides.

WATCH: Bath score ‘all-time great’ team try in victory over Newcastle

However, in the red zone battle, Bath ruled, it’s as simple as that. Nine visits yielded seven tries, a remarkable success story – one that is further amplified when you factor in that Johann van Graan’s side spent a total of 3.5 minutes in that 22 area, a high quality return on their immense accuracy in finishing.

Then you have to consider the relative defensive efforts; Bath missed only 15 tackles, a creditable 83% benchmark, but short of the 90% that the coaching staff set as their exemplar. Meanwhile, Newcastle missed some 28 tackles giving them a miserable return of 75% for their afternoon’s work.

The very best sides finish and defend accurately; everything else in between tends to be salad dressing as long as you get these two critical metrics right. Bath will be delighted in their attacking efficiency, satisfied if slightly disappointed in their defensive effort, but both of their metrics are something Newcastle currently can only aspire to achieve – and improvement in those areas should be their foci moving forward.

Bath system key

As with all great modern rugby sides, one of the keys to Bath’s successes has been how player rotation doesn’t affect the tactical DNA of the team.

Today’s trip saw Bath without maybe 10 or 11 first choice starters – in fact, competition for places is such under Van Graan that it’s hard to know what the real Bath first choice side is, underlining that competition for places is a key quality of the very best sides.

But back to that DNA; it’s simple stuff – a world class set-piece, the best kicking game in the PREM and the absolute belief in handling and carrying accuracy from pick and go’s near the line, a tactic that the west country club are peerless at.

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Today, Carreras and Tom Carr-Smith did everything you’d expect from Spencer and Russell, with Carreras probably adding a little more running threat than the great Scottish Lion himself; Bath don’t change what they do to suit the players, they pick players who can deliver what they need and, as a result, the drop off between first and second choice is barely negligible, something underlined by the performances of Frost, Miles Reid, Josh Bayliss and Griffin in this match.

And, that bench; bringing on seasoned test stars like Thomas du Toit and Sam Underhill, along with PREM legends such as Spencer, Alfie Barbeary and Tom Dunn, is nothing more than a flex of epic proportions, and one that underlines the deep quality of this superb Bath squad.

Toon tunes

For those with a fancy of EDM, then Kingston Park is the place for you, as new owners Red Bull have certainly upped the ante in-game songsmithery and general visiting experience. Against a banging theme of Avicii and David Guetta, with a seasoning of Take That and Madonna, new themed food and beverage outlets abound the concourse, there’s an atmosphere of fun and enjoyment permeating throughout the ground and it’s obvious that investment and a degree of belief are key ingredients of the RB tenure.

And, despite a 365 day period since Newcastle beat Leicester Tigers on December 21, 2024, there’s definitely an improvement on pitch, one that’s seen the fusion of tempo and physical belligerence on the gainline as features of their game plan. At the heart of that ruck speed is Simón Benítez Cruz, Los Pumas’ Test scrum-half, signed in August and already a fan favourite for the Newcastle faithful. The half-back was in sparkling form, challenging the Bath line either side of the ruck, and he was instrumental in creating the first Red Bull try for the impressive flank Leatherbarrow on his first appearance for Newcastle. His kicking game, along with Brett Connon, who smacked a delicious 50/22 in the first half, gives his side territory and poise. Add in the power of Mafi, another very shrewd signing, and Arnold, the top carrier in this game, and it’s safe to conclude they’ve got the basic platforms to work with.

They may be rooted at the bottom of the table, but there’s little doubt their performances are on the upslope, that they have a competitive set-piece to add to their kicking and carrying game, and it will be fascinating to see if they can produce the results to match their admirable ambition.

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