Bath roar back against Loughborough to take BUCS Super Rugby title race to final day
Victory for Bath at Durham next week would secure their first-ever BUCS Super Rugby league title
©BUCS Super Rugby / Ben Lumley
It was a huge night at ‘The Yard’ as Bath hosted reigning league champions Loughborough, who arrived hoping to seal back-to-back titles with a bonus-point victory while leaving their hosts empty-handed.
And it was Loughborough who got off to a dream start, racing into the lead inside two minutes. Elliot Gourlay found space on the wing before passing to scrum-half Rhys Hulse, who crossed to give the visitors the early advantage.
However, Bath’s power game quickly proved effective. Max Pearce peeled off the back of a maul, using great feet to get over the line.
The game continued to ebb and flow as both teams traded tries heading into half-time, with Loughborough narrowly leading 21-19.
The African Violet began the second half as they did the first, although this time it was their forward power doing the damage. Hooker Ralfie Willot crossed following a big maul drive.
The visitors controlled the early stages of the second period, but with Bath struggling to gain territory, replacement fly-half James Beverley went to the boot.
Harry Walker successfully reclaimed the ball to put Bath on the attack and in the next phase, the winger slipped Jamie Howick through a gap, who then found fellow replacement Roman Andrews to finish. Beverley added the extras to level the scores at 26-26 with 20 minutes remaining.
Calls from Loughborough over a suspected forward pass were waved away.
Bath struck again just a couple of minutes later. Full-back Freddie Rossigneux offloaded to Walker, who brilliantly beat two Loughborough defenders on the outside before sprinting in to score. Beverley nailed the difficult touchline conversion to give Bath a 33-26 lead.
With momentum firmly on their side, Bath crossed once more as captain Pearce extended the advantage to 14 points, Beverley adding the conversion.
Loughborough pushed hard in the final seven minutes but were unable to break through until the final play, when Tom Riman reduced the deficit to nine points.
However, Ben Taylor was unable to slot the conversion, meaning the away side left with just a single point from their try bonus.
Bath collected the full five points, moving three points clear at the top of the table with this 40-31 victory. They now travel to Durham (4th) knowing a win would secure a first-ever BUCS Super Rugby league title.
As for Loughborough, who host Swansea next week, they will be hoping for a favour from the Palatinates while also making sure they do their own job.
Speaking of Durham (4th), they bounced back from three consecutive defeats with a commanding 42-14 victory over Swansea (10th), which condemned the Welsh side to relegation from BUCS Super Rugby.
Tries from Finlay Stables, Victor Ravailhe, Keelan Farrell, Rory Telfer and Morgan Williams sealed an impressive away win for the Palatinates.
For Swansea, it is relegation - a bitter pill to swallow for a club that has fought hard to remain in the division. This year, however, that battle comes to an end.
Their Welsh rivals Cardiff University (9th), meanwhile, pulled off a sensational 41-40 away win against Leeds Beckett (8th) at Headingley.
The result not only secured their safety in BSR but also closed the gap to Beckett to a single point.
Jack Thomas scored his eighth try of the season as the side from the Welsh capital ran in seven tries to claim a thrilling victory.
Cardiff Met (6th) edged a remarkable 99-point thriller, defeating Nottingham (5th) 50-49. A last-minute penalty from Ross McKay proved decisive in a contest that produced 14 tries.
McKay, who also kicked the winner against Durham a couple of weeks ago, has become a key impact player for an Archers side who don't mind the odd dose of late drama.
Cardiff Met’s victory sees them overtake Hartpury in the league and move closer to Nottingham.
Hartpury’s (7th) strong run of form came to an end at the Rubber Crumb, where Exeter (3rd) emerged victorious in another high-scoring encounter.
Hooker Tyler Bayley and Exeter Chiefs starlet Noah Fenton took their tallies to 11 and 10 tries respectively at the top of the scoring charts for the hosts. Those efforts helped Exeter solidify third place thanks to a 53-40 win.
With huge ramifications at both ends of the table, Round 17 answered some questions but not the biggest one.
Bath still face a tough trip to Durham if they are to secure the title next week, and as head coach Aaron James said on Wednesday: "We’re closer than we’ve ever been, but it’s still far from being done."
Women's BUCS Super Rugby
In WBSR, there was no shortage of drama or points. Exeter (3rd) amassed an incredible 94 in a 16-try demolition of Edinburgh (6th), niling the visitors to finish the season with a 94-0 win.
A clash between second and fourth produced an impressive away victory for Loughborough (2nd), who ran in eight tries against Cardiff Met (4th).
Among them was a try-of-the-season contender from Adina Hunter, who finished superbly after breaking from her own 22. A dominant second-half display saw the African Violet claim a 46-20 win at Cyncoed.
Cardiff Met’s city rivals, Cardiff University (7th), opened the scoring in their away match against Brunel (5th), but the hosts soon regained control.
A late surge from the league’s bottom side earned them two bonus points to finish the season, with Brunel winning 33-26 in an entertaining contest.
It has been a year of outstanding competition in WBSR, although Hartpury have once again dominated to secure the title.
The question now remains: can anyone stop them in the play-offs?
