Title favourites Bath stunned as inspired Bristol Bears secure superb away-day victory
Bristol Bears produced a superb display to take the spoils in this West Country derby as they overcame rivals Bath 36-26 at the Rec.
Johann van Graan’s men had enjoyed a fine start to the season and were the title favourites for many, but they were outplayed by Pat Lam’s outfit on Saturday.
The Bears were at their free-flowing best and dominated the opening period, going 26-7 ahead at the break via Max Malins, Santiago Grondona (twice) and Benhard Janse van Rensburg tries.
Bath threatened to mount a response as Will Butt, Ross Molony and Ollie Lawrence touched down after the break – securing the try bonus-point following Sam Harris’ first-half effort – but Gabriel Oghre’s score sealed the Premiership victory for Bristol.
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Bristol, fresh from a high-scoring defeat against Gloucester last time out, took just 88 seconds to open their account.
Wing Gabriel Ibitoye was the creator, breaking free in midfield and, despite Bath’s defence halting his progress, he managed to find centre James Williams, who sent Malins over for a try that AJ MacGinty converted.
Bath thought they had conjured an equalising try seven minutes later but flanker Ted Hill was judged not to have grounded the ball behind Bristol’s line.
The home side, though, only had to wait another three minutes before drawing level and it was a spectacular solo effort from Harris, who caught a loose Bristol kick, broke two tackles and then outstripped chasing defenders during a 50-metre break.
Finn Russell added the conversion, yet Bath fell behind for a second time during an eventful opening quarter when Bristol made ground in midfield and England prop Ellis Genge delivered a scoring pass to Grondona.
MacGinty again added the extras and with Bristol growing in confidence they notched a third try when Janse van Rensburg finished off following a quickly-taken penalty by Oghre.
Bristol went in pursuit of a bonus-point try before the interval and it arrived following sustained pressure inside Bath’s 22 that ended with Grondona pouncing for his second touchdown and MacGinty converting.
Bath had a chance to cut the deficit but Bristol turned possession over and took a healthy 19-point lead with them into the interval.
MacGinty kicked a penalty early in the second-half, before Bath had a second try disallowed when a knock-on in approach play denied flanker Guy Pepper a score after Grondona had been yellow-carded.
The home side continued to dominate territory and they breached Bristol’s defence when Butt crossed in the corner and Russell converted, making it 29-14 after 56 minutes.
The fightback was well and truly under way just two minutes later when a piece of Russell magic carved open Bristol’s defence, allowing replacement Molony an easy finish, with Russell’s conversion leaving Bath just eight points behind.
But Bath were then their own worst enemies as flanker Sam Underhill was yellow-carded for a technical infringement just five minutes after going on as a substitute and Bristol struck from a driven line out as Oghre crossed and MacGinty converted.
Lawrence’s try three minutes from the end gave Bath a bonus-point but it proved a frustrating afternoon for Van Graan’s team.
The teams
Bath Rugby: 15 Sam Harris, 14 Tom de Glanville, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Will Butt, 11 Ruaridh McConnochie, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer (c), 8 Miles Reid, 7 Guy Pepper, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Niall Annett, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Tom Dunn, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Sam Underhill, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Cameron Redpath, 23 Jaco Coetzee
Bristol: 15 Max Malins, 14 Gabriel Ibitoye, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 James Williams, 11 Rich Lane, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Fitz Harding (c), 7 Santiago Grondona, 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Joe Batley, 4 James Dun, 3 Max Lahiff, 2 Gabriel Oghre, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Will Capon, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 George Kloska, 19 Joe Owen, 20 Benjamin Grondona, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Joe Jenkins, 23 Jack Bates
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant Referees: Anthony Woodthorpe, Jamie Leahy
TMO: Dean Richards