'Hopefully, he has played his way into the England jersey'

Bath boss Johann van Graan hailed the impact of a star-studded replacements’ bench after his team fought back to beat Gloucester 30-26 at Kingsholm.

The reigning Gallagher Prem champions reclaimed top spot, but not before recovering from a 14-point deficit as fly-half Finn Russell kicked two late penalties.

Van Graan’s reinforcements included five England internationals – Beno Obano, Charlie Ewels, Guy Pepper, Sam Underhill and Henry Arundell – in addition to powerhouse South African prop Thomas du Toit.

And they were able to give Bath sufficient control when it mattered, denying a Gloucester side who matched them 4-4 on tries and made a mockery of their lowly league position.

“It was a great game,” Van Graan, who made 11 changes to his starting line-up, told TNT Sports.

“It is so good to see Gloucester performing – they’ve gone through a tough time – but this is Bath versus Gloucester, an incredible derby.

“I am so proud of my team, they fought to the end. I thought we started well, although our lineout didn’t function in the first half.

“But we held our nerve in the last 20 minutes, and our bench really made a big impact at the back end of the game.

“It is new for us that we are champions and everyone is gunning for us. It is all about a squad, but you need to make sure you rotate players at the right time and select them to succeed.

“I thought we played some good stuff but I don’t think we have delivered an 80-minute performance yet, which is exciting from our side.”

They kept their composure when pressure was at its most intense, with tries from Louie Hennessey, Dan Frost, Pepper and Russell denying Gloucester, while Russell also added two conversions in a bonus-point success.

That took three points ahead of Northampton, who have the opportunity to respond against Sale on Saturday.

Gloucester went toe to toe with their neighbours as Val Rapava Ruskin, Charlie Atkinson, Seb Atkinson and Aso Fasogbon touched down and George Barton kicked three conversions, securing two bonus points as they moved at least temporarily above Harlequins into eighth place.

Gloucester rugby director George Skivington said: “I am very proud of the group. We know where our season is at, but showing what we are about is massive right now.

“The players left it all out there. We were in a position to win that game. It is small margins when you are playing top teams like Bath.

“I thought Seb Atkinson was unbelievable. Hopefully, he has played his way into the England jersey (for the Six Nations), and I think that is our best game (of the season) so far.

“We will take a lot of positives from it, although it is sore right now.”