Bristol kept their Premiership playoff ambitions alive with a vital 36-14 win over Bath at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. The match, part of Bristol’s heavily promoted “Big Day Out”, drew an impressive crowd of over 51,000, showcasing the fixture’s appeal even beyond the traditional rugby heartlands. While the game lacked consistent quality and fluency, the Bears did enough to secure a bonus-point win, snapping a three-match losing streak at a crucial stage of the season.
The spectacle featured six tries from Bristol, who overcame significant adversity including a Premiership record-equalling four yellow cards. The match started on shaky ground for the Bears as Bath, despite fielding a largely second-string side, struck first. Fly-half Ciaran Donoghue benefited from a fortunate bounce after his kick was charged down, allowing Joe Cokanasiga to offload back to him for the opening score.
Bristol, down to 13 men early on after Max Lahiff and Benhard Janse van Rensburg were both sin-binned, weathered the storm and clawed their way back into the game. Gabriel Ibitoye got them on the board with a close-range effort before Rich Lane crossed for the second try, capitalising on Janse van Rensburg’s sharp break and slick passing.
Just before half-time, Bristol added a third try through Gabriel Oghre, who finished off a well-executed driving maul, giving the Bears momentum going into the break. Fitz Harding secured the crucial bonus point early in the second half, powering over for the fourth try and putting Bristol firmly in control.
Bath, however, showed commendable spirit and began to rally. Captain Ewan Richards provided a moment of quality, fooling the defence with a dummy before scoring a well-deserved try. Bristol’s discipline issues flared up again as Joe Batley and Bill Mata were both shown yellow cards, reducing the Bears to 13 men for the second time in the match. Despite their numerical advantage, Bath’s inexperienced side couldn’t make further inroads.
Late in the game, Bristol settled nerves and sealed the win with two breakaway tries from Will Capon and Mata, the latter returning from the sin bin to finish off the scoring in style. The result lifts Bristol to third place and sets up a crucial showdown with Sale next Friday. A win there could leave them well-placed to reach the playoffs heading into the final round.
Bath, who had already secured top spot and have a European Challenge Cup final looming, made 13 changes from their previous outing and rotated heavily. While some fans may have been disappointed not to see the club’s marquee names, the young squad showed promise and tenacity in patches.
The occasion also shone a light on the differences between the English and Welsh professional scenes. The crowd size was notably higher than that of Wales’s recent Judgment Day, and the Premiership used the opportunity to announce a long-term £200 million deal with TNT Sports. Bristol are already planning to return next year, buoyed by the commercial and sporting success of this year’s event.
In the short term, attention will now turn to the playoff race, with several teams still in contention and each round resembling a knockout scenario. Bristol have given themselves a fighting chance and after this performance, they’ll believe they can go further.
