VIDEO: Brilliant bonus-point win in Swansea moves Team Bath to within touching distance of BUCS Super Rugby top-four finish

A bonus-point fourth try from the last move of the game in Swansea moved Team Bath a giant step closer to securing a top-four finish in the 2022-23 BUCS Super Rugby table.

The touchdown from co-captain Tom Williams secured a crucial 28-7 victory for the Bath Building Society-sponsored men’s 1st XV which moved them back up to third in the table with one round of fixtures to play.

They are five points clear of fifth-placed Hartpury, who entertain Nottingham in their last match, while Team Bath are at home to an Exeter side who trail table-topping Loughborough by just one point and are pushing for the title.

That huge South West derby will be played at the Team Bath Sports Training Village on Wednesday 15th March (6pm kick-off) and admission is free for spectators.

Team Bath got their push for a top-four finish and a home quarter-final in the knockout stages back on track after successive defeats with an impressive victory at Swansea, with their unstoppable driving maul leading to early tries for Number 8 George Doel and hooker Max Pearce.

A third try quickly followed, centre Ludo Kolade running onto a clever kick-through from Tom Carr-Smith to touch down under the posts, and all three conversions were kicked to give the hosts a 21-0 lead.

Two yellow cards meant Team Bath were reduced to 13 men for a period of the second half but Swansea were only able to score one converted try. The visitors had good territory for the last 20 minutes but technical errors in the maul and attack breakdown meant they had to wait until the final play of the game to get the all-important bonus point, Williams collecting a nice backhand inside pass from fellow replacement Archie Friend to touch down after eight phases of attacking pressure.

Mark Lilley, Forwards Coach for the University of Bath’s Rugby Performance Squad, said: “It was a
massive positive reaction to last week’s home loss against Nottingham and a pleasing overall team performance both in attack and defence in some very wet conditions.

“The boys owned the disappointing performance of last week and their application at training, pre-game and during the match was the most pleasing thing. We are delighted to see their focus and work-rate rewarded with a bonus point win.”