Bath 61-26 Gloucester: Player Ratings as Bath dominate West Country derby for Challenge Cup semi-final place
04/14/2025 04:49 AM
Bath's attacking prowess was on full display as they dismantled Gloucester with a ten try performance.
Scroll down for Bath and Gloucester Player Ratings
It was an electric start for Bath with the hosts opening the scoring just four minutes into the match through Tom De Glanville.
A tantalising line break from Ciaran Donoghue put the hosts within touching distance of the Gloucester try line and some well worked backs moves saw De Glanville charge through for the opening score. Finn Russell converted with his first attempt of the match.
Gloucester bounced back instantly however with Gareth Anscombe providing a pin point cross field kick to Santi Carreras for the Argentine to touch down in the corner, Carreras converted from the tee to level up the scoring.
Bath responded with pace to the Gloucester attack and scored a paid of tries within five minutes. The first of the two came through hooker Tom Dunn after a driving maul and the latter coming from his front row partner Archie Griffin after a darting line from Ross Moloney split the Gloucester defence.
Gloucester's attack finally found some shape 23 minutes into the first half when Carreras's delayed pass set up Jack Singleton who showed off some superb forward from the forward to step Donoghue and score under the posts. Carreras converted from the tee reducing The Cherry and Whites' deficit to five points.
It was an eventful first 30 minutes with Bath scoring their 4th of the game on the half hour mark, an overlap on the wing provided the space for a two on one which gave Bath captain Ben Spencer one of the easiest tries of his career.
The first half action carried on right until the break with both sides scoring within the final five minutes of the half. Gloucester created another numerical advantage on the wing which allowed for Jake Morris to score Gloucester's third of the match in the 37th minute and just two minutes later Bath responded with Alfie Barbeary chasing his own kick.
HALFTIME: BATH RUGBY 33-19 GLOUCESTER RUGBY
The second half started off much like the first, an early Bath try. Alfie Barbeary dove over the line 51 minutes in after a superb pass caught the Gloucester defence out.
Bath scored their 8th of the match, in the 66th minute, through another superb line break, this time by Jaco Coetzee. The replacement back row stormed through the open field to put down under the posts. Finn Russell had found his rhythm from the tee at this point kicking through his 6th conversion to put Bath in front by 38 points with 13 minutes remaining.
The game had quickly turned into a walk in the park for Bath with Ted Hill getting himself on the scoresheet with just under 10 minutes remaining after some brute force by the Bath pack overpowered Gloucester. The Cherry and White's did get one back through club captain Lewis Ludlow in the 74th minute.
Bath got their 10th try of the game through replacement scrum half Tom Carr Smith after some more beautiful support lines split up the Gloucester backline just before the final whistle.
Player of the Match: Alfie Barbeary
Attendance: 9,445
Bath Rugby: 61
Tries: 10 ( De Glanville 4', Dunn 10', Griffin 15', Spencer 30', Barbeary 39' 52', Coetzee 66', Hill', Carr-Smith 79'
Conversions: 8 ( Russell 4' 15' 30' 39' 51' 67' 72' 79')
Penalties: 0
Yellow cards: 1 (Hill 28')
Red cards: 0
15. Ciaran Donoghue 14. Tom De Glanville 13. Cameron Redpath 12. Will Butt 11. Will Muir 10. Finn Russell 9. Ben Spencer (captain) (68') 1. Beno Obano (53') 2. Tom Dunn (60') 3. Archie Griffin (53') 4. Quinn Roux (53') 5. Ross Molony 6. Ted Hill 7. Ethan Staddon (53') 8. Alfie Barbeary (53')
Replacements
16. Niall Annett ( 60') 17. Francois Van Wyk (53') 18. Thomas Du Toit (53') 19. Josh Bayliss (53') 20. Miles Reid (53') 21. Tom Carr-Smith (68') 22. Max Ojomoh (67') 23. Jaco Coetzee (53', 67')
Gloucester Rugby: 26
Tries: 4 ( Carreras 7', Singleton 23', Morris 37', Ludlow 74')
Conversions: 3 ( Carreras 8' 23' 74')
Penalties: 0
Yellow cards: 0
Red cards: 0
15. Santi Carreras 14. Christian Wade 13. Chris Harris (captain) 12. Will Butler (60') 11. Jake Morris 10. Gareth Anscombe 9. Caolan Englefield (51') 1. Ciaran Knight (45') 2. Jack Singleton (45') 3. Kirill Gotovtsev (45') 4. Freddie Clarke 5. Cam Jordan (45') 6. Deian Gwynne (45') 7. Harry Taylor (45') 8. Ruan Ackermann
Replacements
16. Seb Blake ( 45') 17. Val Rapava Ruskin (45') 18. Afo Fasogbon (45') 19. Freddie Thomas (45') 20. Lewis Ludlow (45') 21. Jack Clement (45') 22. Tomos Williams (51') 23. Charlie Atkinson (60')
Bath Rugby player ratings
1. Beno Obano – 6/10 – Obano was strong in the breakdown but was taken off just after the 50 minute mark.
2. Tom Dunn – 7/10 – Dunn fronted up well in defence and got himself a well deserved try for his efforts at the set piece.
3. Archie Griffin – 7/10 – Griffin stood his ground at the scrum against a pair of strong looseheads in Knight and Rapava- Ruskin, he had a very good cameo and his try came through some superb support lines which he ran throughout.
4. Quinn Roux – 6/10 – Roux's effort was superb this evening but they didn't stand out in either attack or defence.
5. Ross Molony – 6/10 – Molony carried well in attack and led the lineout well at the set piece a solid performance throughout from the lock.
6. Ted Hill – 6/10 – Hill had a good game; he fronted up well in defence but his sinbinning cost his side and would've been worse if Gloucester's attack was up to its fluid best.
7. Ethan Staddon – 6/10 – Staddon had a solid shift; he got over the ball well in the breakdown and made some heavy hits.
8. Alfie Barbeary – 9/10 – Barbeary was the architect for a lot of Bath's attack in the first half, he scored one and set up another, his heavy running and strong breakdown play constantly put his side in positive attacking positions.
9. Ben Spencer – 7/10 – He led from the front, controlled the tempo superbly and was seemingly always in the right place.
10. Finn Russell – 8/10 – He's arguably the best fly half in the world and some of the passes he threw today prove why, he constantly got the Gloucester defence stuck helpless as his balls pinged over the top of them and through the holes in the defence. He was in a league of his own today.
11. Will Muir – 6/10 – Muir was quieter than his wing partner but was in many attacking positions throughout to press the Gloucester defence.
12. Will Butt – 7/10 – Butt was a threat in attack throughout and created a range of attacking opportunities for Bath.
13. Cameron Redpath – 6/10 – Redpath showed glimpses of his full potential today but wasn't as good as his centre partner.
14. Tom De Glanville – 8 /10 – De Glanville was excellent; he was a threat throughout and was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet more.
15. Ciaran Donoghue -7/10 – The 21 year old full back made an impact immediately from the start, he scored the opener, was vital in the setup of a couple of other Bath tries and defensively he put some vital hits in.
Replacements – 7/10 – Rugby is a 23 man sport and that was in full show as the Bath bench increased the speed of the game in the second half, they overpowered a strong Gloucester bench.
Gloucester Rugby player ratings
1. Ciaran Knight – 5/10 – Knight had a fairly solid cameo; he was a brick wall in defence but didn't offer too much in attack.
2. Jack Singleton -7/10 – Singleton was successful from the lineout this evening, he also carried well and put himself in good positions to offer support out wide which ultimately led to him getting on the score sheet.
3. Kirill Gotovtsev – 5/10 – He is always a solid performer and his 45 minute cameo was no exception to this, a heavy hitter and an even heavier runner.
4. Freddie Clarke – 5/10 – Clarke was kept quiet this evening; he did a lot of defending but didn't offer much in attack.
5. Cam Jordan – 5/10 – Jordan did a lot of the dirty work today; he was tackling everyone who came close to his channel but didn't offer much going forward.
6. Deian Gwynne – 5/10 – The teenage flanker had a solid outing; he tackled heavy and was a nuisance at the breakdown throughout.
7. Harry Taylor – 6/10 – Taylor was rewarded with his performances this season with a new contract at the start of the year and its clear to see why he's held in high regard by those at Kingsholm, he's a work horse of a player with a superb engine.
8. Ruan Ackermann – 5/10 – Ackerman carried well throughout but a lot of these carries were by himself which resulted in turnovers at the ruck.
9. Caolan Englefield – 6/10 – Englefield did well with the pressure he was put under, he very rarely had much time on the ball but he showed some superb initiative to still find the right pass.
10. Gareth Anscombe – 4/10 – Anscombe struggled to control the tempo this evening, he made a couple of sloppy errors but also turned up with some great passes for the Gloucester scores.
11. Jake Morris – 5/10 – Morris got himself on the scoresheet in the first half but didn't receive much of the ball to make much of an impact.
12. Will Butler – 5/10 – Butler had a quieter afternoon than he would've liked, he missed the tackle on De Glanville which gave Bath their opener but he created some fluid attacking play.
13. Chris Harris – 5/10 – Gloucester just really didn't get ticking this evening and Harris wasn't able to do much in either attack or defence.
14. Christian Wade – 5/10 – Wade was kept quiet by the speed of the Bath defence, the hosts constantly got into the face of the Gloucester side preventing them from shipping the ball out wide to Wade often.
15. Santi Carreras – 7/10 – The Argentine was once again the architect for the Gloucester attack, he played well in attack and defence and will be a big miss to The Cherry and White's next season.
Replacements – 4/10 – The game fell away from them, they didn't offer much, apart from Ludlow's consolation try, and were at the wrong end of a thrashing.
The biggest talking pointsfrom the West Country derby
Bath run rampant with a decade of tries
It isn't often you see a team score ten tries, even less often you see them do it over their rivals but Bath today were full of flair, speed and beautiful rugby. Bath's attack coach Lee Blackett has clearly been working hard with the team on the training ground and its paid off tonight at The Rec.
The treble is still on for the Blue, Black and Whites
Bath have already got their hands on one piece of silverware this season, the Premiership cup, but with a win tonight and their stance as clear favourites in the Premiership it is not crazy to say that The Blue, Black and White's could win a historic treble.
Gloucester need to regroup after defeat to noisy neighbours
After a demolishing against Bristol and a superb win away in France, The Cherry and White's came into this game full of confidence and on a stellar run of form however, their usual fluid style of play just didn't materialise.
With the playoffs fast approaching it is no surprise that Gloucester rested some of their star players for today but they'll be hoping a loss like this doesn't flatten their season. Gloucester director of rugby George Skivington stated that "we were well and truly beaten today, there are no excuses to be made or what we should do differently, Bath won every aspect of the game".
Alfie Barbeary's attacking flair – England Summer tour bound
The Bath number eight had a superb evening, he got a brace and wasn't far off from getting a third and completing the hat-trick, he seemed to be always in the right place to carry hard and make metres, his support lines were also super. England are blessed with a plethora of talented back row's but with more performances like this he'll be in contention for that England jersey.
Santi Carreras now set to swap Gloucester for rivals Bath
The news every Gloucester fan was dreading was the news of their star player leaving, even worse that he's leaving for their biggest rivals. It was Carreras's last west country derby in Cherry and White before he switches over to Blue, Black and White and although it was not the result, he would've wanted but his performance was still vintage Carreras, he was full of flair and skill and was the catalyst for all of Gloucester's attack.
Although he can't be replaced, those at Kingsholm believe they have recruited well to counteract the big loss of their star player. George Skivington has been trying out George Barton at fullback this season, the Gloucester born players future at Kingsholm might be at full back permanently, Skivington stated that " I told George about 18 months ago I think his way into the 23 is at 15, he's a good 10 but he's a really good 15, we'll have lads next year who can play 15 no problem".
EDITORS PICKS:
- "George Furbank's return" – Northampton 51-16 Castres – Saints Player Ratings from Champions Cup quarter-final
- Son of England legend ditches dad's nation to play for Six Nations rivals
- England flanker Henry Pollock kicks off huge brawl, three players get yellow carded
- Owen Farrell 'Fortunate' to Escape Red as Lions Hopes Hang in the Balance
- Statement: Newcastle Falcons boss handed HUGE BAN for referee comments
QUIZ: Can You Name Every Winner of the EPCR Challenge Cup? (1995 – 2023)
We are laying down the challenge to test your knowledge of the Challenge Cup, to see if you can name every team to have won the tournament since it’s inception in the 1996/97 season up to the 2022/23 campaign. Six minutes are on the clock for this one, good luck!
The post Bath 61-26 Gloucester: Player Ratings as Bath dominate West Country derby for Challenge Cup semi-final place appeared first on Ruck.
