Following a 34-20 defeat to Bath in the Premiership semi-final at the Rec on Friday, here are the player ratings for Bristol Bears.
Bristol Bears player ratings v Bath
15 Noah Heward: The odd issue under the high ball but Heward, like the majority of the team, was exceptional with ball in hand in the first half. Powerful and quick, the full-back enjoyed the open spaces, but those problems in the air were part of Bristol’s downfall after the break. 6
14 Kalaveti Ravouvou: Started the attack which led to Bristol’s stunning coast-to-coast try following an audacious break down the right, but he was sin-binned for a stupid trip on Ben Spencer soon after. Then ran the risk of getting another yellow – and thus a red – before the interval with a high shot. Continued to be the Bears’ main threat in the second half, though, and ultimately ends in credit. 7
Exceptional once again
13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg: England may well rue that single Junior Springboks cap which has prevented him being eligible as Janse van Rensburg was once again excellent for the Bears. In carry, pass and defence, the centre was superb. With the Red Rose out of the question, Rassie Erasmus could well be on the phone in the near future as he certainly deserves to be playing Test rugby. 8
12 James Williams: Knitted it together well from inside centre in the first half. Didn’t quite make the ground of the other backs but did everything proficiently, although his impact lessened significantly in the final 40 minutes. 5
11 Gabriel Ibitoye: You can understand Steve Borthwick’s reticence to pick him, but it would be fascinating to see how he would go at Test level. Once again Ibitoye was a bundle of energy, with his ability to keep the ball alive testing the Bath defence. 7
10 AJ MacGinty: One of the most underrated fly-halves in the Premiership. When all the chaos is going on around him, MacGinty knows how to organise his team-mates and he did that brilliantly in the first half. Not so after the break, however. 6
9 Harry Randall: Was having a fine game and causing all sorts of issues for the hosts before he suffered an unfortunate shoulder injury. Gutting for Randall, Bristol and potentially England, where he would have certainly featured against Argentina. 7
8 Viliame Mata: Some fantastic moments in attack in the opening period but he wasn’t quite as impactful without the ball and there were some key defensive errors after the interval. 5
Workhorses
7 Fitz Harding (c): Never stopped working and, even when it was all going wrong, Harding seemed to be one of the few players to make a positive impact. 7
6 Steven Luatua: A workhorse both with and without the ball, and was influential in the opening period, but that waned after the break as Bath dominated the confrontations at close quarters. 6
5 Joe Batley: Bristol’s go-to man in the lineout but there were some key misses in the set-piece which proved costly, while he wasn’t quite as effective in the loose as usual. 5
4 James Dun: Took a fantastic line to score the first try of the match and repeated that attacking effort a couple more times before being replaced. Was a real standout during his time on the field. 7
3 George Kloska: Some fine work in the loose, showing deft hands and fancy feet, while his scrummaging work was solid, but all that effort took its toll at the start of the second half and he was substituted. 6
2 Gabriel Oghre: Some incredible footwork in the opening 40 minutes, while the scrum also went well, but that lineout error, in which he threw the ball straight to Bath five metres out from the opposition line, was a costly mistake. 7
1 Ellis Genge: Probably his best game for Bristol for quite some time. Genge had a big job in the scrum, which he did superbly, and the loosehead was absolutely menacing in the carry. 7
Replacements: Poor Kieran Marmion had a bit of a stinker off the bench. He did not bring the same tempo as Randall and was then yellow carded as Bristol wilted. The other replacements also failed to alter the momentum, despite some late good work from Pedro Rubiolo and Harry Byrne – the game had gone by that point. 4
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/bristol-player-ratings-bears-star-enters-springboks-conversation-with-superb-showing-as-visitors-count-cost-of-harry-randall-injury
