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Bath Rugby player ratings from Exeter Chiefs win - 'Showed how special he is'
Bath Rugby put in a dogged performance to defeat Exeter Chiefs 19-15 on Saturday night, bouncing back from a mistake-filled first half to return to the top of the table.
Under the floodlight of The Rec, the first half was extremely disjointed and disappointing from a Bath point of view. It started well thanks to Guy Pepper's try after just seven minutes, but after that score, Johann van Graan's men could not take control of the game. Plenty of uncharacteristic knock-ons and silly penalties meant the Chiefs grew into the game, and a try on 19 minutes from captain Jacques Vermeulen brought the away side right back into the game. There was a yellow card for Ted Hill for head-on-head contact with Chiefs scrum-half Stu Townsend, and Bath's mistakes continued as they misfired in the 22, and a Henry Slade penalty on 40 minutes meant Exeter took a one-point lead at the break.
However, the Blue, Black and White found a bit more control in the first half which meant they were able to steer their way to victory. Second-half tries through Miles Reid and Niall Annett, plus two out of three conversions for Finn Russell gave Bath enough to win, even with yellow cards from Ollie Lawrence and Ben Spencer in the second 40. Exeter fought bravely until the end, but they look a team devoid of confidence as they still search for their first win of the campaign. Their only score of the second half came with the clock in the red, with Greg Fisilau dotting down to earn a losing bonus point. Stand-in flyhalf Henry Slade scored five points from his boot with one conversion and one penalty.
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Rugby writer Olly D'Arcy takes a closer look at the individual performances of the Bath players...
15 Tom de Glanville - 6
The fullback did not have a lot of ball in hand in the first 40, but an inexplicable knock-on inside the 22 summed up his first half, spilling the ball while looking to kick and clear the ball away. A misjudged kick that rolled out of the dead ball area did not get his second half off to the best of starts. However, when Spencer went off the pitch, he stepped up well at scrum-half, seeing over that period well as the Blue, Black and White did not conceed. There was also a great tackle to stop a Chiefs two-on-one during that period too.
14 Joe Cokanasiga - 6
Like De Glanville, the big winger had an extremely quiet first half, with not a lot of attacking opportunities making out to Cokanasiga's wing thanks to knock-ons and mistakes. His game was summed up with a few nearly moments, most notably getting hold of a loose ball and racing towards the try line before play was brought back for an Exeter from the scrum.
13 Ollie Lawrence - 5
Coming back from England international duty this autumn, it was certainly the quietest performance for the centre that he has had this season. He did not have a lot of freedom or ball in hand at all throughout the game until the final five minutes when he made his first line break, almost finding the try line. However, his game finished off the pitch after he was yellow-carded for deliberately going off his feet to stop the Chiefs' attack that started from a wonderous Immanuel Feyi-Waboso break.
12 Will Butt - 6
There was a nice blitz on the defensive side on the ball to start from the inside centre, and he was used multiple times as Bath's first carrier, driving into the Chiefs' defence multiple times to try and wear them down. However, he could not break them down in the first 40. It was the same story in the second half, unable to set up the Bath attack against a resolute Exeter defence, stopping the usual flowing Blue, Black and White.
11 Will Muir - 7
The first bit of action came on the defensive side of the ball, and he covered Immanuel Feyi-Waboso brilliantly as the Chiefs looked for a cross-field kick. A great attack from 'The Horse' put the England international into touch and snuffed out the danger. He then had another fantastic tackle, stopping fullback Josh Hodge inside the 22 as the Chiefs looked to have spun the ball out wide well enough to score. He then slipped free from tackles to burst down the left wing, setting up the field position to give Bath their second score and retake the lead. Some bits of quality from 'The Horse' that were needed to get his side over the line.
10 Finn Russell - 7
The Scottish international looked like he was able to take control of the game near the end of the first half in what was a mistake-filled and chaotic game, highlighted by a simply stunning pass that set Will Muir free down the left wing, missing out two Bath payers to create a line break. However, even the creativity of Russell could not shake the Blue, Black and White out of their mistakes, with multiple errors inside the 22 squandering scoring chances. It was by no means a perfect performance from the fly-half, but had he not been pulling the string in attack, there might not have been a Bath win tonight. His kicking was precise when needed, and he made sure Bath controlled the game very professionally when they were down to 14 men. These aren't the flashy performances we are used to seeing, but there are performances that show Russell's class and prove why he is one of the best in the world.
9 Ben Spencer - 7
It was the scrum half's 200th Gallagher Premiership appearance, a fantastic milestone for Bath's captain who has been instrumental in the change of fortune at The Rec. Although his box-kicking was sound enough and he had a couple of nice line breaks off the back of the breakdown, like Russell, he could not bring control to a Bath attack that was prone to knock-ons and mistakes. However, like Russell, his class showed through to propel Bath to victory. He almost got himself on the scoresheet, sitting on the shoulder of Muir fantastically while the winger broke forward. However, he was brought down just before he raced over the whitewash. He was sent to the sin bin for a deliberate knock-on that could have easily been avoided, but he wrestled back control of a game that could have easily got away from Bath.
1 Thomas du Toit - 8
What can't this man do? Back from international duty with South Africa, the usual loose-head prop moved over to the tighthead side, once again showing his versatility and quality which makes him one of the Premiership's best. There were powerful carries as always, and he was part of the scrum that had more joy than the Chiefs throughout the 80. The ability to then move over to the other side of the scrum to carry on and play for 78 minutes of the 80 shows how unique of a player he is, and how special he is to the Bath squad.
2 Tom Dunn - 5
It was a disappointing first-half performance from the hooker, highlighted by a lineout that was not firing on all cylinders like it usually is, with a couple of uncharacteristic overthrows from Dunn squandering attacking opportunities. Although he was a part of a successful scrum, he could not improve his performance in the second half, having a lineout pinched in the 22, summing up a subpar performance from the hooker.
3 Will Stuart - 6
Back from international duty with England, Stuart started strongly with some good carries as Bath looked like they were set to take a strong grip on the game. However, they lost that very quickly, and it turned into a real dogfight. Stuart was there to put in some tackles and defensive work, highlighted by keeping the Chiefs scoreless through the yellow card periods for the Blue, Black and White. Nothing glamourous, but it was a good shift put in by the tighthead prop.
4 Quinn Roux - 5
Unusual mistake from the lock as he could not gather Bath's first attacking lineout, with the Irishman being a real unsung hero so far this season. However, more mistakes came from Roux, and he was a part of the dysfunctional lineout in the first half. That did not change in the second half, losing another attacking lineout as the ball was stolen. He was replaced by Ross Monolny after 59 minutes.
5 Charlie Ewels - 6
Like Stuart, there was nothing glamourous about Ewels' performance. But when is that ever the case in the second row? He couldn't get the lineout functioning throughout the game, but his defensive and tackling efforts were monumental in the Blue, Black and White engine room, keeping Exeter away from the try line until the 81st minute. His leadership in that midfield kept Bath ahead throughout the second half, navigating the 15vs14 man periods well.
6 Ted Hill - 6
Brilliant carry to bulldoze through Henry Slade coming off the attacking lineout, setting up the Pepper try just a phase later. However, after 24 minutes, he was sent to the sin bin for head-on-head contact with Exeter's scrum-half Stu Townend, with the chief player not returning after failing his HIA. It was a decision that could have been called a rugby incident, but under the laws of today's game, a yellow card was probably the right call. Like Lawrence, it has been almost impossible to keep Hill out of the game and influence it, but today, the Chiefs did that, and he was kept very quiet for the whole 80 minutes.
7 Guy Pepper - 9
The flanker returned to the Bath squad after his injury in the Blue, Black and White's most recent Premiership game against Sale Sharks late in October. It could have been a much longer stint on the sidelines, and it's a great result to have Pepper back. After seven minutes, it was the perfect return to the starting XV, opening Bath's account, crashing over from inside five metres after Hill's thunderous carry. As always, his work at the breakdown was second to none, earning Bath a couple of vital penalties while defending inside their own 22. He was also influential in Bath's second try after 44 minutes, binding with Reid to push him over the line. He was rightly awarded Player of the Match by TNT Sports, and for the lack of quality that was on display, he shone brightly. He has been a superb signing for Bath and Van Graan.
8 Miles Reid - 8
It's been a great start to the season for the back-rower, but it was a very quiet first half for Reid, who was not as prominent as he usually is in the breakdown, and there were very few carries. However, just four minutes into the second half, he took advantage of the field position set up by Muir's brilliant break with Bath's second try of the evening, with Bath building up the phases well, and then the leg drive from Reid and his back-row mate Pepper meant he could crash over the line. His game was done after 58 minutes, but his score was vital in Bath's victory.
Replacements
16 Niall Annett - 8
17 Francois van Wyk - 6
18 Kieran Verden - N/A
19 Ross Molony - 6
20 Josh Bayliss - 8
21 Louis Schreuder - 6
22 Cameron Redpath - 6
23 Alfie Barbeary - N/A
