Finn Russell’s gamble fails as Bristol defeat Bath in 101-point West Country thriller
Finn-Russell-of-Bath-Rugby
Scotland international Finn Russell took a gamble in the latter stages of the West Country derby cost Bath Rugby as the Bristol Bears sealed a 57-44 victory.
It was a helter-skelter fixture at Ashton Gate that included four yellow cards, 14 tries and four yellow cards.
Bath fought back from a 33-15 deficit at half-time to trail by just six points in the final two minutes of the match when Benhard Janse van Rensburg kicked deep following a Russell penalty. Looking for a late winner, the Scottish pivot attempted a risky cross kick in his own 22, but it did not pay off as Bristol back Richard Lane pounced to score a try that sealed the result for the hosts.
Will Capon, Joe Batley, AJ MacGinty, Noah Heward, James Williams, Fitz Harding, Mangus Bradbury and Lane all dotted down for Pat Lam’s side, with MacGinty kicking 15 points from the tee.
Joe Cokanasiga, Tom Dunn, Tom de Glanville, Jaco Coetzee, and Thomas du Toit all scored for Bath, who were also awarded a penalty try. Russell kicked 12 points from the tee and inspired Bath’s attack with two try assists, but his late gamble cost Johann van Graan’s charges.
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Bath flew out of the blocks and went ahead after just two minutes from their first attack.
Russell’s kick found Cokanasiga, who still had plenty to do, but he brushed off two attempted tackles during a 45-metre run that ended in him crossing wide out for a 5-0 lead.
Bristol were level just five minutes later, though, when Capon touched down following a superbly executed lineout drive before Bath’s defence was split open by a brilliant move.
Full-back Rich Lane attacked from deep and found scrum-half Harry Randall in support, and the England international’s inside ball was taken at pace by Batley, who galloped clear to score.
MacGinty converted and there was more trouble for Bath when Coetzee was yellow-carded following head-on-head contact with his opposite number Bradbury.
A short-range Russell penalty cut the deficit, yet Bristol were in the mood to capitalise on Coetzee’s temporary absence, collecting a third try as MacGinty crossed following strong approach work from Bradbury.
MacGinty added the extras, and Bath continued to press the self-destruct button, briefly going down to 13 players when scrum-half Louis Schreuder saw yellow for a deliberate knock-on.
And Bristol did not require a second invitation, securing a bonus point after just 23 minutes when Heward crossed for their fourth touchdown, with MacGinty’s conversion putting the home side 18 points clear.
Bath responded when Dunn rounded off a lineout drive, with Russell converting, yet normal service was quickly resumed due to MacGinty’s defence-splitting pass that sent Williams clear for another converted try, giving Bristol a 33-15 half-time advantage.
A pulsating contest continued at pace, with Russell twice being involved in a flowing move that resulted in an early second-half try for De Glanville, yet back came Bristol when Harding surged over and MacGinty’s conversion left Bath 20 points behind.
Coetzee claimed Bath’s fourth try but it was immediately cancelled out when Bradbury scored, although Bristol then went down a player through Luatua being yellow-carded.
Heward then followed him as a penalty try brought Bath back to within striking distance before MacGinty’s penalty and Lane’s converted score finally denied them.
Bristol Bears v Bath
Bristol: 15 Rich Lane, 14 Noah Heward, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 James Williams, 11 Gabriel Ibitoye, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Magnus Bradbury, 7 Fitz Harding (c), 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Joe Batley, 4 James Dun, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Will Capon, 1 Jake Woolmore
Replacements: 16 Fred Davies, 17 Sam Grahamslaw, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Josh Caulfield, 20 Jake Heenan, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Virimi Vakatawa, 23 Siva Naulago
Bath: 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Cameron Redpath, 12 Will Butt, 11 Matt Gallagher, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Jaco Coetzee, 7 Miles Reid, 6 GJ van Velze (c), 5 Quinn Roux, 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Juan Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Arthur Cordwell, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Josh McNally, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Tom Carr-Smith, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Chris Cloete
Venue: Ashton Gate
Kick-off: 15:05 GMT
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant Referees: Anthony Woodthorpe, John Meredith
TMO: David Rose