Bath Rugby head into their second block of PREM Rugby Cup fixtures once again short of specialist fly-half options. The club’s head of rugby, Johann van Graan, confirmed that Argentina international Santi Carreras is on a planned five-week break during the Six Nations period, having come into the season fresh off an intense summer of international action.
Star fly-half Finn Russell remains with Scotland for their opening Six Nations match in Italy, while injuries have sidelined Bath’s third and fourth-choice number 10s. Promising youngster James Linegar is currently representing England U20s, further depleting Bath’s options in this key playmaking role.
Van Graan shed light on the fly-half shortages ahead of the important trip to Sale Sharks on Sunday. “Kieran Donoghue won’t be available until at least April. Sam Harris is recovering from an ACL injury—we can’t give a return date yet, so both are definitely out for the foreseeable future,” he explained.
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In response, Bath will bring in Will Roue from Bath University. Roue impressed recently starting for Bath United in their 45-17 victory against England U20s. “That’s a positive from our development pathway through the A-teams, Bath Uni, and the club—young players getting opportunities due to injury setbacks,” van Graan said.
Previously, Bath has adapted by deploying players out of their usual positions to cover fly-half duties. Centre Max Ojomoh played stand-off during early Gallagher PREM matches this season while Russell rested post-British & Irish Lions tour and Carreras was on international duty with the Pumas. Ojomoh is currently part of England’s Six Nations squad, though not in the match-day 23 for their game against Wales this weekend, so is unlikely to cover 10 for Bath at present.
Van Graan added: “You might see Tom Carr-Smith at 10 in the coming weeks. We’ve also used Tom de Glanville and Max Ojomoh there previously. We’ll need to be creative, but it’s also a great chance for guys like Will Roue to step up.”
Bath currently sit fourth in Pool A of the PREM Rugby Cup but have played one game fewer than their rivals. A win in their game in hand could lift them into second place, with the top two teams progressing to the semi-final stage.