Bath Rugby is poised for a significant double injury boost ahead of their pivotal Investec Champions Cup pool match against Castres Olympique on Friday night. The reigning Gallagher Premiership champions travel to France aiming to secure their position atop Pool 2, where competition remains fiercely open — all six teams have one win and one loss after two rounds.
A victory against Castres, currently 10th in their domestic league, would put Bath in a commanding position to advance to the knockout stages. The top four teams from the pool progress, with the top two earning the valuable advantage of home fixtures in the last 16.
Bath’s head of rugby, Johann van Graan, has employed a consistent rotation strategy through the winter. This weekend, he welcomes back two key backs: centre Max Ojomoh and full-back Tom de Glanville. Both players have recovered from calf injuries sustained in a collision during Bath’s 21-41 defeat to Northampton Saints on December 27.
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Though Cam Redpath and Santi Carreras are expected to retain their spots in the starting lineup, Ojomoh’s return is especially encouraging ahead of Bath’s subsequent home game against Edinburgh. The duo missed last Saturday’s hard-fought 33-26 victory over Exeter Chiefs but have now resumed training.
In his midweek press conference, van Graan confirmed: “Max Ojomoh is available for selection, so is Tom de Glanville. Both trained. There are still one or two knocks and bruises from last week, and we will make a final decision on them later in the week. But generally speaking, the squad is now in a healthy place.”
He also provided injury updates on other players: “Obviously, Charlie [Ewels] is not available [with an infected leg], and Ewan [Richards] won’t be available this weekend; that ankle hasn’t responded as well as we’d hoped.”
With Ewels and Richards sidelined, Bath’s second row options are a bit limited. However, van Graan can still rely on a strong pool of internationals including Quinn Roux, Ross Molony, the versatile Ted Hill, and 19-year-old Enoch Opoku-Gymafi. Opoku-Gymafi made his senior Bath debut recently against Exeter and already holds an Italian international cap after playing against Chile in the Autumn internationals.
Bath goes into this critical fixture looking stronger and more prepared with the return of Ojomoh and de Glanville, as they seek a vital win on foreign soil to bolster their Champions Cup campaign.