‘Performance to Impress’ – Bath Player Ratings from Narrow Bristol Bears Defeat

Bath’s ambitions for a home play-off semi-final suffered a setback after a tightly contested 21-19 defeat against West Country rivals Bristol Bears at an electrifying Ashton Gate. Despite a spirited performance, the visitors fell just short in a pulsating derby clash.

The scoring opened for Bath on the 20-minute mark, exploiting a gap in the Bristol defence as relentless pressure was applied near the Bears’ tryline. Bath quickly doubled their tally less than ten minutes later when Ben Spencer cleverly used a dummy at the back of the ruck to free himself before passing to Guy Pepper, who dived emphatically over the line.

Bristol Bears rallied before half-time with a try from captain Fitz Harding, who spun past Charlie Ewels after a tap-and-go surge. Bath responded near the break, as Thomas du Toit powered through two defenders with assistance from Ethan Staddon, stretching the Bath lead to 12 points at the interval.

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The second half began with a penalty try awarded to Bristol following a yellow card to Henry Arundell for an intentional knock-on. This shifted momentum firmly to the hosts, who capitalised when Max Lahiff scored a try to take a narrow two-point lead with 15 minutes remaining.

In the dying moments, Bath had a final opportunity when Santi Carreras attempted a long-range penalty from inside his own half but narrowly missed. The hosts made a desperate push for a bonus point try but eventually kicked the ball out, sealing Bath’s narrow defeat.

Here are the player ratings from the match:

15. Santi Carreras – 6
    Carreras was impressive with ball in hand and delivered some strong kicks. His quick break in the second half was promising, though his long-range penalty attempt fell short.

16. Joe Cokanasiga – 7
    Utilising his physicality well, Cokanasiga posed constant threats under the high ball and troubled the Bears' defence with effective offloads, though he was caught out of play in the second half.

17. Ollie Lawrence – 6
    Lawrence scored Bath’s opening try and combined well with Max Ojomoh, but was guilty of a few sloppy passes that hampered fluidity.

18. Max Ojomoh – 6
    Along with Lawrence, Ojomoh linked strongly and made crucial tackles, yet conceded a late penalty and knocked on in key moments.

19. Henry Arundell – 5
    Started brightly with strong carries and high ball skills but faded as the game progressed and cost his team with a penalty try due to an intentional knock-on.

20. Ciaran Donoghue – 6
    Stepping in for the injured Finn Russell, Donoghue showed solid defensive work and made key tackles, though he lacked Russell’s creativity and was caught out by an earlier forward pass.

21. Ben Spencer – 8
    Captain Spencer was a class act, orchestrating play deftly with intelligent dummies, excellent box kicking, and strong tackling throughout.

22. Beno Obano – 7
    Dominated the scrum and earned multiple penalties, excelling with aggressive counter-rucking and steadfast defence.

23. Kepueli Tuipulotu – 6
    Making his first league start, Tuipulotu showed promise with strong carries, though a few line-out errors highlighted areas for growth.

24. Thomas du Toit – 8
    A standout, du Toit nullified Ellis Genge’s threat with massive hits, scrum dominance, and capped it with a powerful try running through defenders.

25. Ted Hill – 7
    Hill’s defensive performance was commendable, thwarting a potential Bears try and stopping a late attacking break, in addition to an impactful carry leading to the opening try.

26. Charlie Ewels – 6
    Delivered solid ball carries but was exposed defensively at times, notably being spun past by Fitz Harding’s try.

27. Ethan Staddon – 7
    Impressed with strong ball carries and physicality, supporting du Toit’s try despite an early offside that led to a Bears score.

28. Guy Pepper – 7
    A reliable performance highlighted by a well-taken try and sustained effort at the breakdown.

29. Sam Underhill – 6
    Unfamiliar at number eight, Underhill tackled hard and competed well at the breakdown but was occasionally out of position.

Replacements:
Dan Frost (4), Francois van Wyk (5), Vilikesa Sela (5), Ewan Richards (5), Josh Bayliss (6), Tom Carr-Smith (5), Cameron Redpath (6), Alfie Barbeary (4).

Despite the narrow loss, Bath showed resilience and quality but were ultimately undone by key moments favoring Bristol Bears in a fiercely contested derby.