Bath 28-38 Harlequins

Bath 28-38 Harlequins: Robshaw smiling again after Quins win

  • Robshaw returns as Harlequins leave the Rec with the victory
  • Nick Evans kicks 28 points for Quins
  • The game ends two tries apiece, but Quins come out on top
England captain Chris Robshaw returned to the Harlequins starting XV as they blitzed past Bath in the Aviva Premiership thanks to an impressive second-half display.

Bath were in front at the interval thanks to Kyle Eastmond’s try, supported by eight points from the boot of George Ford. Nick Evans kept Quins in the match with four penalties, meaning the score at half time was 13-12 to the home side.


BATH, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 31: Danny Care of Harlequins scores a try during the Aviva Premiership Match between Bath Rugby and Harlequins at The Recreation Ground on October 31, 2015 in Bath, England. (Photo by Julian Herbert/Getty Images)
BATH, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 31: Danny Care of Harlequins scores a try during the Aviva Premiership Match between Bath Rugby and Harlequins at The Recreation Ground on October 31, 2015 in Bath, England. (Photo by Julian Herbert/Getty Images)

The second half saw the away side dominate the early stages. Evans put Quins in the lead with a penalty, before Danny Care went over for his side following some individual brilliance. Evans converted the try before adding two penalties to take the score to 13-28.

George Ford and Nick Evans exchanged penalty kicks to make it 16-31 to the away side, before try scorer Eastmond was sin-binned for Bath for a tackle without the use of arms.

It got worse for Bath when Dave Ward scored Quins’ second try of the game, following an offload from Tim Visser. Evans was in the groove and duly converted to extend Quins’ lead to 22 points.

The crowd at the Rec finally had something to cheer about, as Nick Auterac went over following a driving maul. Ford was unable to replicate Evans’ kicking form as he hit the upright.

Bath thought they were back in the game shortly after, only to see Leroy Houston’s try ruled out by the TMO.

The home side did, however, get another consolation try, with Semesa Rokoduguni going over in the corner. George Ford converted, but the game was over here, and Harlequins left the Rec with a 38-28 victory.


MAN OF THE MATCH
Harlequins: Nick Evans

LEICESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 25: Nick Evans of Harlequins kicks a conversion during the Aviva Premiership match between Leicester Tigers and Harlequins at Welford Road on October 25, 2015 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images)
There were a few contenders for the MOTM award. Danny Care’s try alone put him in the mix, but it’s hard to look further than Nick Evans. The Quins fly-half contributed 28 points to his side’s victory this afternoon, and barely put a foot wrong.


Bath: 15 Anthony Watson, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Ollie Devoto, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 George Ford, 9 Niko Matawalu, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Guy Mercer, 6 Matt Garvey, 5 Dave Attwood (c), 4 Dominic Day, 3 David Wilson, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Max Lahiff.
Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Nick Auterac, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Stuart Hooper, 20 Max Northcote-Green, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Tom Homer.

Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 George Lowe, 12 Harry Sloan, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care (c), 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw, 6 Jack Clifford, 5 Sam Twomey, 4 James Horwill, 4 James Horwill, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Joe Marler.

Replacements: 16 Dave Ward, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Charlie Matthews, 20 Luke Wallace, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Ben Botica 23, Ollie Lindsay-Hague.


Date: Saturday, October 31
Venue: Recreation Ground
Kick-off: 13:30 GMT
Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant referees: Andrew Pearce, Roy Maybank
Television match official: David Sainsbury
Timekeeper: Matthew Peters
Assessor: Martin Fox