Gritty Bath make it three wins from three since the restart as Northampton fold again at home
Tom de Glanville and Ruaridh McConnochie sealed a third-straight Gallagher Premiership win for Bath since lockdown in a gritty 18-3 win at Northampton Saints. Full-back de Glanville broke the try deadlock just before the hour only to trudge off straight away with a suspected neck injury.
The 20-year-old son of former England captain Phil de Glanville copped heavy contact from Saints duo Tommy Freeman and Rory Hutchinson but still delivered a smart finish under pressure.
Courtesy of a dominant scrum and a regimented defensive game, Bath nullified Northampton throughout an often scrappy contest and drew full reward when replacement McConnochie raced in for their second score to seal just their second league win at Franklin’s Gardens in 20 years.
Bath’s third win in a row since the league’s resumption pushed Stuart Hooper’s men up to fourth in the table. Saints, meanwhile, were left to rue a second loss in their three matches since the Premiership’s return, evening out their win-loss ratio to eight apiece.
A turgid first-half’s first meaningful act saw JJ Tonks slip off his tackle on Mercer, flipping the Bath number eight upside down. Tonks walked for the deserved yellow card for his efforts and Bath eventually gained some benefit with Josh Matavesi’s penalty on 20 minutes.
Ruaridh McConnochie scores with his first touch ?
A gift for @bathrugby as the England winger comes straight off the bench and jogs under the posts! pic.twitter.com/JFugXHBInq
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) August 26, 2020
Dan Biggar missed a routine penalty shot just before the half-hour, with Taqele Naiyaravoro brutally swatting Mike Williams aside in the build-up. Wales playmaker Biggar founds his kicking boots to level the scores on 33 minutes, and Josh Matavesi ensured a try-less first-half when hauling down the marauding Naiyaravoro.
Saints cranked up the pressure after the break, but still failed to find any momentum amid a gritty Bath defence. Bath’s tight work and especially their scrum kept the visitors in the contest, thwarting the Saints on a number of occasions deep in their own 22.
After weathering that extended storm, Bath pounced on one Saints error, finally opening the try scoring just ahead of the hour. Ahsee Tuala spilled replacement scrum-half Ben Spencer’s bomb and in a flash Bath were in at the corner.
De Glanville latched onto the pass over the top and slid home, with the score given after a television match official (TMO) review. That proved de Glanville’s last act of the night however, as the young full-back was replaced after suffering a suspected neck injury.
Matavesi missed the touchline conversion, but Bath still led 8-3 heading into the last quarter. Bath doubled their try count and killed off the contest shortly afterwards, forcing and then capitalising on another Saints error.
This time Saints replacement Sam Matavesi – brother of Bath fly-half Josh – spilled the ball in contact, and McConnochie strolled home. Replacement fly-half Rhys Priestland slotted the conversion, and later added a penalty as Bath turned the screw at the death.
Brilliant from Tom de Glanville ?
The @bathrugby full-back gets the one-handed finish despite taking a hard hit…
A costly mistake under the high ball instantly punished! pic.twitter.com/H8NgSZQHC9
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) August 26, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
I wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
4 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
4 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to comments