Match Report: Bath 38-3 Cardiff Blues

Match Report: Bath 38-3 Cardiff Blues – Bath end Blues perfect start

  • Bath capitalised on George Earle’s red card as they claimed a bonus-point victory over Cardiff Blues
  • Ross Batty’s score combined with the boot of George Ford gave the home side a 10-3 lead at the break
  • Tries from Jack Wilson and Aled Brew put Bath further ahead before Batty’s second secured the bonus-point
Bath ended Cardiff Blues 100% record in the European Challenge Cup as they inflicted a first defeat on Welsh side at the Recreation Ground.

The black,blue and whites are now level on points with the Welsh side but top Pool Four thanks to their superior head-to-head match points.

The hosts dominated early on as they looked to avenge their 28-3 loss in Cardiff last weekend but a series of handling errors and wayward kicking from George Ford meant the Blues were able to take the lead when Steve Shingler knocked over a penalty.

Nevertheless, a superb attacking move from left to right saw Bath finally get in front, with England international Jonathan Joseph’s wonderfully delayed pass releasing hooker Ross Batty to finish off expertly. This time Ford dissected the posts before soon after adding a penalty to give the black, blue and whites a 10-3 lead at the break.

The hosts struck first after the interval when Jack Wilson finished nicely on the right wing after he was found by Ford, who then made it 17-3 with the resulting conversion.



That came in between a yellow card for Kirby Myhill (tip tackle) and red card for Earle (alleged eye gouge), as the Blues were down to 13.

The hosts then took full advantage with a third try on 52 minutes when Aled Brew dived over. The bonus-point was the next task for Bath and it came in style as Batty raced in from over halfway on 64 minutes.

The margin was now 31-3 and there was still time for one more try, with gigantic second-row Elliott Stooke going over to put the seal on a much-needed win.

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LINE UPS

Bath: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Jack Wilson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Aled Brew, 10 George Ford (cc), 9 Kahn Fotuali’i, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Tom Ellis, 5 Dave Attwood, 4 Charlie Ewels (cc), 3 Max Lahiff, 2 Ross Batty, 1 Nick Auterac
Replacements: 16 Michael van Vuuren, 17 Beno Obano, 18 Shaun Knight, 19 Elliott Stooke, 20 Zach Mercer, 21 Darren Allinson, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Max Clark
Cardiff Blues: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Cory Allen, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Blaine Scully, 10 Steven Shingler, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Josh Navidi, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Macauley Cook, 5 James Down, 4 George Earle, 3 Taufa’ao Filise, 2 Kirby Myhill, 1 Rhys Gill
Replacements: 16 Matthew Rees, 17 Brad Thyer, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Jarrad Hoeata, 20 Seb Davies, 21 Ellis Jenkins, 22 Tomos Williams, 23 Nicky Robinson