Bath beat Bristol 40-15 to go second ahead of international break

Bath beat local rivals Bristol 40-15 at the Recreation Ground on Saturday, powering to a bonus-point Premiership victory that moved the hosts up to second place ahead of a four-week international break. Bath scored six tries through Guy Pepper, Ollie Lawrence, Cameron Redpath, Joe Cokanasiga, Sam Underhill and Henry Arundell, with Finn Russell adding the majority of the kicking points, while Kalaveti Ravouvou and Gabriel Oghre crossed for Bristol.

Bristol struck almost immediately when Finn Russell had an attempted clearance charged down and Benhard Janse van Rensburg’s pressure helped create space for Ravouvou to score inside the first minute. Sam Worsley added points with a conversion and a penalty as the visitors built a 15-10 lead during a chaotic first half dominated at times by strong wind and heavy rain that repeatedly disrupted kicking and aerial play.

Bath responded by steadying possession and exploiting turnovers. Guy Pepper finished a sharp move after 11 minutes to draw the home side level, and within a four-minute spell Ollie Lawrence and Cameron Redpath crossed to put Bath ahead 19-15 at the interval. Lawrence’s try came from a delicate chip from Russell and...