Wreaths will be laid and a minute’s silence will be observed before kick-off when Bath Rugby entertain Bristol Bears tomorrow (Saturday 25th October) in Gallagher PREM Round 5.
The Bath Rugby versus Bristol Bears derby at The Rec tomorrow (Saturday 25th October) will be the hosts’ Remembrance fixture | Photo © Richard Briggs
The derby at The Rec has been designated the Blue, Black & White’s Remembrance fixture.
Match shirts worn by the Bath players will feature the Poppy emblem and will be auctioned following the game, all proceeds going to charity.
Bath’s front row will see hooker Tom Dunn lining up alongside props Beno Obano and Thomas du Toit.
Quinn Roux and Ross Molony will be partnered in the engine room in front of flankers Josh Bayliss and Guy Pepper, at six and seven respectively, and Miles Reid at number 8.
Captain Ben Spencer and Finn Russell will link up as the half-backs.
Cameron Redpath and Ollie Lawrence will be paired at centre, and Henry Arundell and Joe Cokanasiga will occupy the wing positions.
Santi Carreras will complete the starting XV at full-back.
Hooker Kepueli Tuipulotu and props Francois van Wyk and Will Stuart will be the replacement front row.
Ewan Richards, Sam Underhill and Alfie Barbeary will be the other impact forwards.
Backs Tom Carr-Smith and Max Ojomoh will complete a six-two split on the bench.
Bath starting XV: 1 Beno Obano, 2 Tom Dunn, 3 Thomas du Toit, 4 Quinn Roux, 5 Ross Molony, 6 Josh Bayliss, 7 Guy Pepper, 8 Miles Reid, 9 Ben Spencer, 10 Finn Russell, 11 Henry Arundell, 12 Cameron Redpath, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 15 Santi Carreras.
Bath replacements: 16 Kepueli Tuipulotu, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Ewan Richards, 20 Sam Underhill, 21 Tom Carr-Smith, 22 Max Ojomoh, 23 Alfie Barbeary.
In the Bristol starting XV for the big clash is prop and England regular Ellis Genge, who played for the British & Irish Lions in all three of their Tests in Australia this year.
Bristol starting XV: 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Gabriel Oghre, 3 George Kloska, 4 Pedro Rubiolo, 5 Joe Batley, 6 Santiago Grondona, 7 Fitz Harding, 8 Viliame Mata, 9 Kieran Marmion, 10 Sam Worsley, 11 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 12 Bernhard Janse van Rensburg, 13 Matias Moroni, 14 Jack Bates, 15 Benjamin Elizalde.
Bristol replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 Lovejoy Chawatama, 19 Joe Owen, 20 Ben Grondona, 21 Oscar Lennon, 22 Josh Carrington, 23 Toby Fricker.
While Bath lie in third place in the table on 16 points, the Bears are fifth on 14 points.
Both sides have won three of their four PREM matches, Bristol beating Leicester Tigers, Exeter Chiefs and Gloucester Rugby and losing heavily at Saracens.
Kick-off tomorrow will be at 3.05pm. The last few tickets are available here.
Meanwhile, Bath head of rugby Johann van Graan has described du Toit, who will leave the club at the end of the season, as “an amazing team member”.
At the Blue, Black & White’s pre-PREM Round 5 press conference on Tuesday 21st October, van Graan said: “Don’t cry because he’s leaving, smile because of the journey he’s been on with us.
“He’s been an amazing team member for the last two years and a bit, we’ve still got the whole season to go and he’ll leave at the end of the season as somebody that made his team-mates better, made the club better.
“We as a group really haven’t spoken about it. We conveyed the messaging but he’ll certainly leave here as a great clubman – somebody who when our paths cross again in the future, wherever it might be, that we’ll always speak about the amazing difference that Thomas made.”
Bayliss added: “He’s an incredible human, an unbelievable player, but the person he is off the pitch makes him one of the most likeable characters and he’ll be sorely missed.”
The Blue, Black & White’s academy under-18s will entertain their Bristol Bears counterparts at Allington Fields, Chippenham, tomorrow in PREM Next Gen Round 3 (noon).
