Bath suffer last-gasp defeat in entertaining 12-try BUCS Super Rugby home clash with fellow high-flyers Durham
A last-minute try condemned the University of Bath men’s 1st XV to a first defeat on their new 3G Pitch home after a hard-fought BUCS Super Rugby contest with top-four rivals Durham.
Both sides ran in six tries during an entertaining game which saw the lead change hands several times before Durham finally came out on top 42-38.
The hosts, sponsored by Bath Building Society, had numerous players away on club and international duty but demonstrated their squad depth by giving first starts of the season to, among others, Leicester Tigers Academy prop Diamond Ayiehfor, Bath Rugby’s Tom Hilton and backs Jamie Howick (pictured) and Freddy Rossigneux, who both trained with the England A squad during last week’s training camp at the University of Bath.
Bath Rugby scholar Evan Gallagher started at hooker and scored the opening try, which was quickly overturned by a converted Durham effort. However, three tries in 10 minutes from Will Keylock, Iwan Coyle and Howick, plus two conversions from James Beverley, gave Bath a 24-7 lead and secured the bonus point with 37 minutes on the clock.
There was still time for Durham to pull a converted try back on the stroke of half-time and they turned the game on its head with two more in the opening stages of the second period, giving the visitors a 28-24 advantage.
Back came Bath with tries from replacement hooker Oscar Thomas and Howick, both converted by Beverley, to give the hosts a 38-28 lead but Durham again responded to cut the gap to 38-35 with five minutes to play.
The next score would be decisive and it went to Durham in the dying seconds, a converted try securing a hard-earned 42-38 victory.
Despite the loss, Bath – who are also supported by Team Bath partners Rengen – remain third in the table behind Exeter and Loughborough who both suffered surprise defeats this week, to Cardiff and Swansea respectively.
The Welsh clubs provide the opposition for Bath’s next two fixtures, a trip to Cardiff on Wednesday 19th November (6pm) before a return to the Team Bath Sports Training Village to face Swansea on Wednesday 26th November (6.30pm). Admission is free.
Match stats
University of Bath starting XV: 1 Jacob Yates, 2 Evan Gallagher, 3 Diamond Ayiehfor, 4 Tom Hilton, 5 Isaac Sprenger, 6 Rory McKnight, 7 Iwan Coyle (cc), 8 Will Keylock; 9 Roman Andrews, 10 James Beverley, 11 Rocky Prowse, 12 Luc Anfield (cc), 13 Jamie Howick, 14 Freddy Rossigneux, 15 Louis Bouverie. Replacements: 16 Oscar Thomas, 17 Claudius Wheeler, 18 Alfie Griffin, 19 Albert Dmitriev, 20 Evan Jones, 21 Isaac Mears, 22 Alex Ridgway, 23 Jack Harrison.
Tries: Gallagher, Keylock, Coyle, Howick 2, Thomas.
Conversions: Beverley 4.
Durham starting XV: 1 Leon Tahana, 2 Louis Inman, 3 Ethan Hulme, 4 Finn Baker, 5 Emmanuel Olowe, 6 Archie Clarke, 7 Julius Turley, 8 Marcus Rhodes (c); 9 Sam Curwen, 10 Patrick Keaveney, 11 Charlie Thompson, 12 Ben Motamed, 13 Aaron Pope, 14 Rory Telfer, 15 Louie Platt. Replacements: 16 Will Ayton, 17 Timmy Gecer, 18 Sam Graham, 19 George Lavender, 20 Cameron Collie, 21 Will Windows, 22 Keelan Farrell, 23 Max Orange.
Tries: Pope, Thompson, Olowe, Turley, Tahana, Gecer.
Conversions: Platt 6.
Pictured top: Jamie Howick, who scored two tries against Durham, trained with the England Rugby Men A squad when they visited the University of Bath last week. CREDIT: Bob Bradford.
