Bath Rugby have named a matchday 23 featuring 10 players with senior international experience for their vital PREM Rugby Cup clash with Gloucester Rugby tomorrow, Saturday 28th February.
A place in the PREM Rugby Cup semi-finals is up for grabs when Bath Rugby face Gloucester Rugby here at The Rec tomorrow, Saturday 28th February | Photo © Richard Briggs
The Round 10 fixture at The Rec is effectively a knockout tie in Pool A, because either side, but not both, can reach the semi-finals.
On paper at least, the Cherry & Whites are in the driving seat on the last weekend of group action, holding second place in the mini league’s standings behind the already-qualified Exeter Chiefs.
However, third-placed Bath are only three points behind Gloucester – and with the vast majority of the sellout crowd of 14,509 backing them, they know that they have a great chance of finishing second in the pool and securing a semi-final match away to Leicester Tigers on Sunday 8th March.
Such is the significance of the all-or-nothing Bath-Gloucester fixture that it will be shown live on TNT Sports and discovery+ and, accordingly, kick-off has been put back five minutes from the originally advertised time. The game will start at 3.05pm.
Whereas the Blue, Black & White have fielded a side packed with youngsters so far in their PREM Cup campaign, they are pulling out all the stops to ensure they remain in the competition that they won last term.
Players with senior international experience are in abundance, with six in the Bath starting XV and four on the bench.
Charlie Ewels (England), Ted Hill (England), Max Ojomoh (England), Will Muir (England), Chris Harris (British & Irish Lions and Scotland) and Joe Cokanasiga (England) will all start – and Tom Dunn (England), Beno Obano (England), Quinn Roux (Ireland) and Cameron Redpath (Scotland) will be among the replacements.
In the front row, Francois van Wyk will join Kepueli Tuipulotu and Vilikesa Sela.
Will Jeanes will return to the second row, partnering Ewels.
Hill will line up on the blindside, Ethan Staddon switching to the openside flank.
Miles Reid will complete the forwards selection, at number 8.
Tom Carr-Smith will feed the scrum and Ojomoh will operate at fly-half.
Captain Will Butt and Harris will remain in tandem in the centre.
Muir and Cokanasiga will take the wings, with Tom de Glanville completing the starting line-up at full-back.
Among the replacements, Dunn, Obano and Mikey Summerfield will make their impact in the front row.
Roux and Alfie Barbeary will complete the impact forwards, with Bernard van der Linde, Will Roue and Redpath the replacement backs.
Bath starting XV: 1 Francois van Wyk, 2 Kepueli Tuipulotu, 3 Vilikesa Sela, 4 Will Jeanes, 5 Charlie Ewels, 6 Ted Hill, 7 Ethan Staddon, 8 Miles Reid, 9 Tom Carr-Smith, 10 Max Ojomoh, 11 Will Muir, 12 Will Butt, 13 Chris Harris, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 15 Tom de Glanville.
Bath replacements: 16 Tom Dunn, 17 Beno Obano, 18 Mikey Summerfield, 19 Quinn Roux, 20 Alfie Barbeary, 21 Bernard van der Linde, 22 Will Roue, 23 Cameron Redpath.
Gloucester will be no pushovers, though, and have also named a side bristling with international experience as they look to prolong their challenge in the PREM Cup.
The Cherry & Whites’ starting XV will include Argentina legend Matías Alemanno and England caps Lewis Ludlow, Charlie Atkinson, Ollie Thorley, Seb Atkinson and Will Joseph, along with Will Trenholm who has played sevens for England and Great Britain.
On the Gloucester bench will be former All Black Nepo Laulala.
Seb Atkinson and Clark have spent the past three weeks in England’s Guinness Six Nations camp.
Clark and Charlie Atkinson made their Test debuts against the USA last summer – the same match in which Ojomoh played his first game in an England shirt.
Ciaran Knight will come in alongside Seb Blake and Afo Fasogbon in the Cherry & Whites’ front row.
Alemanno will pack down with Clark in the second row.
Ludlow will captain the team from the back row, with Trenholm and Deian Gwynne, fresh from a player-of-the-match performance for Wales U20 last weekend, completing the pack.
Caolan Englefield and Charlie Atkinson will be the starting half-backs, with Seb Atkinson partnering Josiah Edwards Giraud in midfield.
Thorley, Joseph and Ben Redshaw will line up in the back three.
Jack Innard, Dian Bleuler, Laulala, Danny Eite and Josh Basham will cover the forwards from the bench, with Rhys Price, Max Knight and George Barton in reserve for the backs.
Gloucester starting XV: 1 Ciaran Knight, 2 Seb Blake, 3 Afo Fasogbon, 4 Arthur Clark, 5 Matias Alemanno, 6 Deian Gwynne, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 8 Will Trenholm, 9 Caolan Englefield, 10 Charlie Atkinson, 11 Ollie Thorley, 12 Seb Atkinson, 13 Josiah Edwards Giraud, 14 Will Joseph, 15 Ben Redshaw.
Gloucester replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Danny Eite, 20 Josh Basham, 21 Rhys Price, 22 Max Knight, 23 George Barton.
