Bath Rugby produced an electrifying second-half performance to overcome Bedford Blues 76-33 in a pre-season friendly at Goldington Road on Friday evening. Trailing 26-24 at the break, the Gallagher Premiership side surged ahead, scoring 52 points after the interval to dominate their Championship opponents.
England wing Henry Arundell was the standout performer, crossing for a hat-trick of tries as Bath amassed an impressive total of twelve tries on the night - despite conceding five to Bedford.
The visitors struggled during the opening 40 minutes as Bedford tested Bath’s defence and capitalised on handling errors and lapses in defensive intensity. Bedford set the pace early, with Lucas Titherington igniting the home crowd after ten minutes by stepping inside Joe Cokanasiga to finish in the corner after the hosts breached Bath’s defence with ease.
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Further tries from prop Oisin Heffernan and full-back Louis James, along with a score from flanker Charlie Ulcoq, saw Bedford establish a commanding 26-7 lead. Ulcoq’s try came after a fumble by Cokanasiga on his own try line, offering Bedford further momentum.
However, Bath rallied late in the half. Summer signing Dan du Preez powered over from a five-metre scrum, and an individual moment of quality from Tom de Glanville created space for Arundell to sprint 30 metres to the line. Right on the stroke of half-time, Cokanasiga evaded two defenders to bring Bath within two points at 26-24.
The second half belonged unquestionably to Bath. De Glanville finished a slick attacking move that was sparked by Ciaran Donoghue’s running and Arundell’s pace, giving Bath their first lead at 29-26. Dan Frost extended the advantage by powering over from a lineout maul.
Arundell was then unstoppable, securing his second try by rounding the defence after a perfectly weighted pass from Ollie Lawrence. Just minutes later, he completed his hat-trick, breaking through two tackles with sheer speed and power to make the score 55-26.
Bath’s dominance continued with Ewan Richards capitalising on a forward pass from Donoghue to score under the posts, followed by replacement Jack Woods who intercepted a loose Bedford pass to sprint 80 metres untouched.
Despite the heavy scoreboard deficit, Bedford showed resilience, with Ryan Hutler collecting a well-delivered grubber kick from Will Maisey to score. Nevertheless, Bath finished the match emphatically with tries from Bernard van der Linde-who finished a rapid counter-attack initiated by Will Roue-and James Linegar crossing in the final moments to push the tally to 76 points.
A highlight for Bath was the return of Will Stuart from injury, as the prop came off the bench to make his first competitive appearance in ten months following recovery from an Achilles injury.
Johann van Graan’s side will now prepare for their next pre-season fixture against Glasgow Warriors ahead of the Premiership season opener against Harlequins at The Stoop in two weeks’ time.
Match officials: Referee: Richard Gordon
Bedford Blues starting XV: 15. Louis James, 14. Ryan Hutler, 13. Lucas Titherington, 12. Michael Le Bourgeois, 11. George Worth, 10. Will Maisey, 9. Alex Day (C);
- Joey Conway, 2. Tommy Herman, 3. Oisin Heffernan, 4. Ilan Evans, 5. Rory Ward, 6. Kayde Sylvester, 7. Charlie Ulcoq, 8. Fred Tuilagi
Replacements: James Fish, Monty Royston, Will Davies-King, James Bennett, Alex Woolford, Archie Benson, Tui Uru, James Lennon, Ben Dufficy, Dean Adamson
Bath Rugby starting XV: 15. Tom de Glanville, 14. Joe Cokanasiga, 13. Ollie Lawrence, 12. Cameron Redpath, 11. Henry Arundell, 10. Ciaran Donoghue, 9. Tom Carr-Smith;
- Claudius Wheeler, 2. Dan Frost, 3. Archie Griffin, 4. Quinn Roux, 5. Ross Molony, 6. Arthur Green, 7. Miles Reid (c), 8. Dan du Preez
Replacements (alphabetical): Jack Bennett, Ieuan Davies, Tom Dunn, Ioan Emanuel, Austin Emens, Jack Harrison, Louie Hennessey, Will Jeanes, Scott Kirk, James Linegar, Max Pearce, Ewan Richards, Will Roue, Jasper Spandler, Will Stuart, George Timmins, Kepu Tuipulotu, Bernard van der Linde, Kieran Verden, Jack Woods