Bath Rugby player ratings from Benetton defeat - 'Lacking direction and confidence'

Bath's Champions Cup journey looks to have run its race after another tight loss, this time going down 22-21 away at Benetton on Sunday.

With van Graan rotating his side, the hosts took full advantage, scoring three first-half tries as Rhyno Smith grabbed a brace while Louis Lynagh also found a score. Bath did find a try, thanks to Niall Annett, but went into halftime trailing 17-7. The visitors notched two tries in the second half to take the lead 21-17 with Josh Bayliss and Thomas du Toit crossing, but a late try from Bautista Bernasconi gave Benetton a stunning win.

READ MORE: Is Bath Rugby's Champions Cup campaign over after last-minute Benetton defeat?

READ MORE: Is Bath Rugby's Champions Cup campaign over after last-minute Benetton defeat?

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Rugby writer Sam Jess takes a closer look at the individual performances from the Bath Rugby players out at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo...

15 Tom de Glanville - 6

One of the mainstays of Bath's starting side, the full-back was full of energy, especially in the counter-attackers, but lacked the connection with his back three. He was particularly passive in defence and allowed the big wingers of Benetton to make easy metres.

14 Regan Grace - 5

In just his second professional start and his first in the Champions Cup, Grace's involvement was not particularly good, with some poor hits in defence as he fell off tackles, allowing Benetton to find momentum.

13 Max Ojomoh - 5

Returning to the starting side again, Ojomoh was not at his best and lacked connection with his backline partners with limited link-up with Redpath. Ojomoh was then sent to the bin late in the match for a deliberate knock-on, which proved crucial as the host managed to find easy metre against 14 men to ratchet up the pressure on the English side's defence.

12 Cameron Redpath - 7

Reuniting in the centres with Ojomoh, Redpath never got going and looked off the pace, which was highlighted when Smith ghosted past him for the intercept try. After a sloppy first half, Redpath went back to basics with a direct running style, which opened Benetton up for Bath's second try with a great offload to Miles Reid. Redpath came alive in the match and tried to slow down every attack that the Italians tried, but this did result in a late and unfortunate penalty, which resulted in the final maul try.

11 Ruaridh McConnochie - 6

In a rare start away from the Premiership Cup, the winger had a tricky first touch of the ball, forcing an offload that wasn't on, ending a bright spell of possession for the visitors. A mix up on a kick reception with Orlando Bailey, and his first two touches were mistakes. It was not his best outing as he was often beaten for pace by Louis Lynagh and Nacho Brex, and Benetton found their attacking shape.

10 Orlando Bailey - 7

Starting in the Champions Cup for the first time in two years, the fly-half made a bright start with some neat line breaks and attacking moments, but when Bath seemed to be getting back into the game, Bailey made a poor error gifting possession to Benetton full-back Rhyno Smith as he ran way for an easy intercept try. Bailey improved in the second half with some excellent kicks, but he still lacks the direction and confidence in the big games.

9 Louis Schreuder - 6

Back at nine again in the absence of the captain, the scrum-half made a key defensive strip against Benetton hooker Siua Maile; however, he was yellow-carded moments later for not rolling away deep inside his own half. The lack of a relationship with Bailey is key, as there is no continuity, and he was hooked with 20 to go.

1 Francois van Wyk - 6

He was steady, if not spectacular, as he showed his power but lacked some handling skills with basic errors.

2 Niall Annett - 8

After a slow game last week, the hooker was back to his energetic best with a lovely pick-and-go try as Bath finally got some go-forward and reward from the referee. Annett had a bright game and showed his abrasive nature and also nailed his lineouts in a big improvement from last week.

3 Vilikesa Sela - 7

The U20 star made some decent carries early on in his first Champions Cup start and held his own at the scrum time, which is very respectable for someone as ripe as him.

4 Ewan Richards - 6

In a rare start in the 'first choice' team, Richards was unable to show his power and was not at his best.

5 Ross Molony - 5

Despite his experience, Ross Molony failed to show his quality with a few clumsy errors.

6 Josh Bayliss - 6

Off the back of a bright autumn, Bayliss made a slow start with a few defensive lapses, including rushing out the line and conceding a penalty at the resulting breakdown. A much improved Bayliss ran out in the second half and powered his way to a great try, shifting off three defenders, but his defence was off it.

7 Ethan Staddon - 7

Rewarded for his strong performances in the Prem Cup, Staddon continued his fine form with some huge hits and defensive work, which resulted in plenty of turnovers.

8 Miles Reid - 8

Captaining the side for the first time in the Champions Cup, Reid had a slow start to proceedings; the captain warmed into the game with some physical hits and play before a running a great support line off Redpath before linking up with Bayliss for the second Bath try.

Replacements:

16 Kepu Tuipulotu - 6

On for the last ten minutes, the hooker showed patience and resilience in defence.

17 Arthur Cordwell - N/A

18 Thomas du Toit - 7

Coming on with his side needing an impact, du Toit did just that with a great try.

19 Quinn Roux - 7

On along with du Toit and Cotzee, Roux found the power but was unable to find the lineout steals he did last week

20 Ted Hill - 5

Unlike his other replacements, Hill did not make an impact and coughed up the ball a few times.

21 Tom Carr-Smith - 7

Having not featured at all last week, Carr-Smith had twenty minutes to show his worth and ignite the pace with Bath on top and he did just that improving the pace of the game but it came to nothing.

22 Louie Hennessey - N/A

23 Jaco Coetzee - 7

On with his fellow South Africans, Coetzee added some momentum and carries to Bath's game to shift the game back in favour to his side with monster carries.