Steven Kitshoff unable to stall Bath’s scrum as Ulster fall to heavy Champions Cup defeat

Bath’s outstanding scrum laid the platform as they produced a superb second-half display to beat Ulster 37-14 in the Champions Cup at the Rec.

The Premiership outfit dominated the set-piece from start to finish, with the visitors’ new signing, Steven Kitshoff, failing to halt the momentum.

South Africa’s two-time Rugby World Cup winner and his Ulster team-mates struggled up front and it proved crucial in the end result.

Dan McFarland’s men had turned around an 8-0 deficit to go 14-8 in front at the break thanks to quick-fire tries from Billy Burns and Nathan Doak, but the pressure was unrelenting from the hosts.

Bath consistently marched back the Irish province after the interval and they were rewarded with scores from Joe Cokanasiga, who added to his first-half effort, Tom Dunn, Thomas du Toit and Matt Gallagher.

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Both sides showed plenty of ambition early on, with Bath number eight Alfie Barbeary punching great holes in the visitors’ first line of defence, but there were no points on the board in a first quarter of thrust and counter-thrust.

Ulster had no problem finding the edges but too often threw a wild pass, either into touch or forward of the receiver.

Bath took time to sort out a misfiring lineout, so they opted for a kick at goal rather than attempt a catch-and-drive after 15 minutes, but Finn Russell’s effort was wide.

Despite the presence of Kitshoff in the Ulster front-row, Bath began to gain an edge in the scrum, and that platform finally provided the opening score.

The Ulster pack buckled, and Spencer threw a 30-metre scoring pass to Cokanasiga in the right corner.

Ben Spencer could not convert but added a penalty five minutes later, but only after right-wing Rob Baloucoune intervened twice to snuff out try-scoring opportunities.

A bizarre try then let Ulster back into the game as a loose ball rebounded off Ollie Lawrence’s shin and into the path of Burns, who dotted down behind the posts, with Doak adding the conversion.

Doak touched down for another converted try after Jacob Stockdale attacked from his own 22, and James Hume and Baloucoune exchanged passes to send the scrum-half away.

OTT from Ben Spencer, and Joe Cokanasiga puts @BathRugby on the board! 🔝#InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/HAlb25zeZ4

— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) December 9, 2023

Bath went in at the break wondering how they were trailing by six points but restored their lead four minutes into the second half with a trademark Dunn catch-and-drive try.

Spencer converted from wide out and then rewarded his pack’s growing influence on the game with a penalty just short of the hour.

As Du Toit came off the bench to tangle with fellow Springbok Kitshoff, the Ulster scrum was already fighting a rearguard battle, even more so when replacement lock Matty Rea was sin-binned for one too many infringements.

Lawrence, Miles Reid and Du Toit went close as the Ulster scrum defended desperately, but Du Toit kept up his remarkable scoring record with a 69th-minute drive to the line, with Spencer converting.

Cokanasiga grabbed his second in the 72nd minute after Lawrence burst clear and still had the poise to slip a backhand offload to his right wing. Not content with that, Bath added a fifth through Gallagher, converted by Bailey on the final whistle.

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