Bath delivered a commanding performance in a thrilling, high-scoring encounter, securing a 47-28 victory over Harlequins at the Recreation Ground. The match featured 11 tries, with the home side running in seven to claim a bonus-point win.
Finn Russell orchestrated the attack with precision, outshining his opposite number, Marcus Smith. The Harlequins fly-half endured a frustrating evening, receiving a yellow card in the first half and later being shifted to full-back upon his return. However, Harlequins’ issues ran deeper, as they struggled at the breakdown and barely touched the ball in the frenetic opening 24 minutes, during which Bath surged to a 26-0 lead.
Joe Cokanasiga opened the scoring with a strong finish in the corner, brushing off the challenge of Rodrigo Isgro, who was fortunate to escape a red card for a head-on-head collision. Bath capitalized on their numerical advantage, as Ted Hill powered over following dominant carries. Marcus Smith’s sin-binning for disrupting clean ball near his line further compounded Quins’ troubles, with Ross Molony finishing from close range and Will Muir crossing on the left after a dazzling break from Max Ojomoh and Tom de Glanville.
Harlequins had staged a remarkable comeback from 28-0 down in the Premiership semi-final in 2021, and they sought to replicate that feat. Luke Northmore provided a glimmer of hope by starting and finishing a move, while prop Titi Lamositele bulldozed over to narrow the gap. However, Bath responded emphatically, as Muir grabbed his second try just before halftime following a surging 30-meter run from hooker Tom Dunn, who benefitted from a fortunate bounce off a contestable kick.
The visitors struck first after the break through Fin Baxter, one of three returning England internationals alongside Smith and Chandler Cunningham-South. Yet, any hopes of a Quins resurgence were dashed when Ojomoh intercepted a pass and sprinted 80 meters to score.
Russell’s influence was pivotal throughout, pulling the strings as Bath continued to dominate physically. Their superiority was underscored by the impact of their bench, including South African prop Francois van Wyk, who supported Ben Spencer’s break to finish a counterattack following an ill-advised box kick from Danny Care.
Bath might have extended their lead further but were undone by a knock-on from Cameron Redpath in space and a forward pass from Cokanasiga to Spencer on the wing. Instead, Sam Riley’s late try salvaged a bonus point for Harlequins.
The victory leaves Bath in a commanding position at the top of the Premiership. With 10 points from their last two games, they now turn their focus to Friday’s Champions Cup knockout fixture against Pau, with key players in exceptional form.
