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112kg Bath flanker Hill skins England wing Feyi-Waboso over 50 metres

Ted Hill of Bath Rugby runs in his team's second try as Immanuel Feyi-Waboso of Exeter Chiefs looks on during the Investec Champions Cup Round Of 16 match between Exeter Chiefs and Bath Rugby at Sandy Park on April 06, 2024 in Exeter, England. (Photo by Patrick Khachfe/Getty Images)

For a player that stands at 1.96 metres and weighs 112 kgs, Bath flanker Ted Hill showed to the rest of Europe that he can shift on Saturday.

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The two-cap England forward has always been known to have a freakish top speed, but few would have known he could gallop quite as well as he showed against Exeter Chiefs in the Investec Champions Cup round of 16 encounter at Sandy Park.

Playing a match in wildly tempestuous conditions, the 25-year-old took advantage of a swirling Bath box kick to pluck the ball out of the air at the halfway line. He then stampeded his way to the tryline from 50  metres out.

That achievement is impressive enough for a player of his side, but it is made all the more staggering by the fact that England winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso was in hot pursuit of him but could not catch up.

Now Feyi-Waboso does not need to prove what a speed merchant he is to anyone, so the fact that he could barely keep up with Hill over 50 metres says something about the Bath man’s top speed.

Fixture
Investec Champions Cup
Exeter Chiefs
21 - 15
Full-time
Bath
All Stats and Data

In the Exeter star’s defence, he was turning while Hill had momentum after chasing the Bath kick while, but they more or less started from the same position and had a foot-race from the halfway line. But he could barely close the gap on the flanker 22kg heavier than him.

Take a look at the try:

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Exeter Chiefs: 1 Scott Sio, 2 Jack Yeandle, 3 Ehren Painter, 4 Rusi Tuima, 5 Dafydd Jenkins (c), 6 Ethan Roots, 7 Christ Tshiunza, 8 Ross Vintcent, 9 Tom Cairns, 10 Harvey Skinner, 11 Olly Woodburn, 12 Ollie Devoto, 13 Henry Slade, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 15 Josh Hodge

Replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Lewis Pearson, 20 Greg Fisilau, 21 Stu Townsend, 22 Will Haydon-Wood, 23 Zack Wimbush

Bath Rugby: 1 Beno Obano, 2 Tom Dunn, 3 Thomas du Toit, 4 Quinn Roux, 5 Charlie Ewels, 6 Ted Hill, 7 Sam Underhill, 8 Alfie Barbeary, 9 Ben Spencer (c), 10 Finn Russell, 11 Will Muir, 12 Cameron Redpath, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 15 Matt Gallagher

Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Elliott Stooke, 20 Miles Reid, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Jaco Coetzee

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cw 6 hours ago
The coaching conundrum part one: Is there a crisis Down Under?

Thanks JW for clarifying your point and totally agree. The ABs are still trying to find their mojo” - that spark of power that binds and defines them. Man the Boks certainly found theirs in Wellington! But I think it cannot be far off for ABs - my comment about two coaches was a bit glib. The key point for me is that they need first a coach or coaches that can unlock that power and for me that starts at getting the set piece right and especially the scrum and second a coach that can simplify the game plans. I am fortified in this view by NBs comment that most of the ABs tries come from the scrum or lineout - this is the structured power game we have been seeing all year. But it cannot work while the scrum is backpeddling. That has to be fixed ASAP if Robertson is going to stick to this formula. I also think it is too late in the cycle to reverse course and revert to a game based on speed and continuity. The second is just as important - keep it simple! Complex movements that require 196 cm 144 kg props to run around like 95kg flankers is never going to work over a sustained period. The 2024 Blues showed what a powerful yet simple formula can do. The 2025 Blues, with Beauden at 10 tried to be more expansive / complicated - and struggled for most of the season.

I also think that the split bench needs to reflect the game they “want” to play not follow some rote formula. For example the ABs impact bench has the biggest front row in the World with two props 195cm / 140 kg plus. But that bulk cannot succeed without the right power based second row (7, 4, 5, 6). That bulk becomes a disadvantage if they don’t have a rock solid base behind them - as both Boks showed at Eden Park and the English in London. Fresh powerful legs need to come on with them - thats why we need a 6-2 bench. And teams with this split can have players focused only on 40 minutes max of super high intensity play. Hence Robertson needs to design his team to accord with these basic physics.



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