Bath Rugby face a challenging start to the 2026/27 season as they travel to the CorpAcq Stadium to take on Sale Sharks in the opening round of the PREM Rugby Cup on Sunday, 6 February. Sale Sharks director of rugby Alex Sanderson has named a strong side, signalling their intent for the first competitive fixture of the campaign.
Bath, known as the Blue, Black and White, recently concluded a pre-season friendly against Perpignan in the South of France, where they were narrowly defeated 53-42. This outing offered valuable match practice ahead of the Cup.
Bath’s head of rugby, Johann van Graan, has remained consistent with his approach by using the PREM Rugby Cup primarily as a platform to develop academy and fringe players. This strategy has previously yielded success, with Bath securing the trophy in 2024/25 and reaching the semi-finals last season.
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For the first block of PREM Rugby Cup games, Bath’s academy coach Mark Lilley will take on head coaching duties, supported by Ryan Davis and Luke Charteris. However, van Graan retains control over team selections. Ewan Richards has been appointed captain of the Cup side for the third year running.
The Bath starting XV features Scott Kirk, Kepueli Tuipulotu and Kieran Verden in the front row, with Richards partnering Will Jeanes to complete the tight five forwards. On the flanks are Jack Bennett and George Timmins, while Italian international giant Enoch Opoku-Gyamfi will make his Cup debut at Number 8.
Half-back duties are shared by Ieuan Davies at scrum-half and Ciaran Donoghue at fly-half. The centre partnership includes newcomer Declan Treacey, who will make his Bath Rugby debut after joining the Senior Academy earlier this year, paired alongside Charlie Griffin at outside centre.
On the wings are Sam Winters and Tyler Offiah, with Jack Woods starting at full back.
Among the replacements are front row forwards Jasper Spandler, Ioan Emanuel and Alfie Griffin. James Maloney and Alex Ridgway complete the replacement forwards, while Tom Carr-Smith, James Linegar and Jack Harrison add options in the backs.
Kick-off is set for 3pm at the CorpAcq Stadium, with live streaming available via PREM Rugby’s YouTube channel.
Sale Sharks Team: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11 Arron Reed, 10 Alex Lozowski, 9 Gus Warr; 1 Bevan Rodd, 2 Nathan Jibulu, 3 Tye Raymont, 4 Ernst van Rhyn (captain), 5 Ben Bamber, 6 Courtney Lawes, 7 Sam Dugdale, 8 Jacques Vermeulen.
Replacements: 6 Alfie Longstaff, 17 Ralph McEachran, 18 Patreece Bell, 19 Christ Tshiunza, 20 Tristan Woodman, 21 Xavier Roe, 22 Ollie Davies, 23 Marius Louw.
Bath Rugby Team: 15 Jack Woods, 14 Tyler Offiah, 13 Charlie Griffin, 12 Declan Treacey (debut), 11 Sam Winters, 10 Ciaran Donoghue, 9 Ieuan Davies; 1 Scott Kirk, 2 Kepueli Tuipulotu, 3 Kieran Verden, 4 Will Jeanes, 5 Ewan Richards (captain), 6 Jack Bennett, 7 George Timmins, 8 Enoch Opoku-Gyamfi.
Replacements: 16 Jasper Spandler, 17 Ioan Emanuel, 18 Alfie Griffin, 19 James Maloney, 20 Alex Ridgway, 21 Tom Carr-Smith, 22 James Linegar, 23 Jack Harrison.
The match will be officiated by referee Sara Cox, supported by assistant referees Hamish Grant and Jamie Leahy.