Bath effectively rubber-stamped a top-two Premiership finish on Saturday with a brutal 11-try demolition of the Newcastle Red Bulls at the Recreation Ground, with Finn Russell pulling strings, Adam Ashe carving open the gain line and Argentine winger Mateo Carreras helping himself to a try-scoring romp. Centre Max Ojomoh and the recalled Chris Harris also crossed in a try-fest that head coach Johann van Graan said reaffirmed the champions' direction with two regular-season rounds to play.
The bonus-point try arrived inside what the TNT Sports commentary team called "24 ballistic minutes," with Adam Ashe — released brilliantly by a Russell pass through the legs — repeatedly scything through a stretched Red Bulls defence.
"Russell at full tilt. Five outside him… Russell delivers the pass — splashed down. The bonus-point try was inside 24 ballistic minutes," TNT's commentator said. "Finn Russell pulling strings, plucking rabbits from hats."
Van Graan, whose side were beaten by Exeter the previous weekend and by Bordeaux in the Champions Cup semi-final, said the response was exactly what he was looking for.
"I think we needed a reaction from the past couple of weeks. We're not familiar at the moment with losing like that," he said. "Bordeaux was unlucky, but then I think Exeter was poor from us. We knew we had to do a job today, so let's just get the job done."
Asked about the manner of the win, the South African was unequivocal. "I think it was a 23-man effort. We played to the gain line, we played to the space. I think we scored 10 tries — 11. You've got to be happy with 11 tries. Obviously, the last few weeks we came up against some incredible defences, but certainly from a confidence point of view, that reaffirms what we're doing."
For Newcastle, fielding a Red Bull-funded squad still learning to play together under recently appointed head coach Dan McFarland, the result was a sobering reminder of the gap to the league's incumbents. Centre Charlie Atkinson took the brunt of Carreras' speed bursts, but McFarland praised his side's first-half resilience before the wheels came off.
"For 40 minutes in that match it was 12-all," McFarland said. "We got a player carded and the floodgates opened after that. It was always going to be difficult coming down here against last year's treble winners."
Pressed on the dressing-room message, the coach pivoted to his side's two remaining fixtures, including next week's home Sale Sharks game. "We spoke about pride, self-respect and making sure that we put the effort in. For the vast majority of that game, we did," he said. "We've got Sale at home next, a game we're looking forward to. There's two games left this season and we want to make sure we give a very good account of ourselves."
Centre Max Ojomoh, a Bath academy graduate, delivered the line of the day in his post-match interview, describing the surreal feeling of running rampant in front of the home crowd that helped raise him.
"I've said quite a few times in interviews like this, this is a dream come true for me. It's sometimes a bit cliché, but I was an eight-year-old boy in the crowd coming to every game and following Bath religiously," Ojomoh said. "When Chris Harris scored, I kind of just looked around the field. I just thought — these are the best days of your life."
Asked if Bath could become the first side since the great Saracens dynasty to retain the Premiership crown, Ojomoh stuck to the company line. "It's been the main focus all season. We're just going to take every game as it comes, and it's such a competitive league," he said. "For us, it's just when we get a chance, try and get five points."
With maximum points banked and the playoff position secured, Bath now head into Sale at home next weekend before signing off the regular season — and chasing back-to-back trophies on June 20.
