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Finn Russell and England forwards help Bath power past Newcastle

By PA
Bath player Finn Russell is congratulated after scoring their fifth try despite the attentions of Sam Stuart during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Newcastle Falcons and Bath Rugby at Kingston Park on December 21, 2024 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Bath claimed their fifth successive Gallagher Premiership victory with a 40-15 win over Newcastle at Kingston Park that keeps them top of the standings.

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A breathless start to the game saw a Jamie Blamire try put the hosts ahead barely a minute in and although Alfie Barbeary quickly responded for Bath, Freddie Lockwood’s converted score saw Newcastle leading 12-7 after just eight minutes.

However, that was about as good as it got for the struggling Falcons and tries from Tom de Glanville and Will Stuart gave the visitors a six-point advantage at the break before Bath stormed away in the second half.

Charlie Ewels added Bath’s fourth try to bag the bonus point before Finn Russell – who also slotted over five conversions – and Sam Underhill went over in the final 15 minutes to earn their side a seventh win of the season, while the Falcons remain second-bottom after slumping to a sixth loss.

Match Summary

1
Penalty Goals
0
2
Tries
6
1
Conversions
5
0
Drop Goals
0
83
Carries
138
2
Line Breaks
6
11
Turnovers Lost
15
7
Turnovers Won
8

Newcastle threatened to upset the odds when they took the lead soon after kick-off when the Bath defence spilled a high kick and Blamire reacted quickly to kick the ball forward before diving on top of it to ground.

Johann van Graan’s men hit back when Barbeary capped off a charge towards the Falcons line, touching down next to the upright to give Russell an easy kick to add the extras.

But Lockwood restored Newcastle’s advantage moments later after the Falcons broke away from a scrum and, following a great spell of pressure by the posts, the flanker sneaked around the back to touch down. Brett Connon extended the gap with a successful conversion.

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Newcastle again could hold on their lead though, and Bath notched their second try in the 22nd minute when a cross-field kick reached De Glanville, who charged forward to score his fourth Premiership try of the season.

Connon kicked Newcastle back in front at 15-14 with a penalty straight through the middle before brilliant defending from Callum Chick and Lockwood denied Barbeary his second try of the evening following a great Bath move down the right flank.

But the Falcons could not keep their high-flying visitors at bay indefinitely and as Bath began to threaten towards the end of the half, a promising drive in the final minutes was eventually finished off after a series of phases by Stuart, who touched down following a scramble under the posts.

With Russell again converting, Bath led 21-15 at the break and they moved up through the gears after the interval to score 19 unanswered points and secure the win.

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They struck again eight minutes into the second half when Ewels cut through the Newcastle defence and spun away before crashing over the line.

The Falcons showed some promise with their breaks on the attack, but Bath did well to stop their opponents from getting a foothold back into the match, especially with some brilliant defensive work on their own tryline to deny Newcastle multiple times.

Bath also showcased their strength at the other end of the pitch with a solid spell of pressure and although they were initially thwarted by Newcastle, Russell cut into the left and dodged a tackle to touch down before converting his own score.

Underhill then capped off a comfortable evening for the visitors after bundling over for their sixth try in the final minute.

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J
JW 3 hours ago
Where is the new breed of All Black 10?

Players like Prendergast and Finn Smith already have a few seasons at top club level under their belt and are now test players, at an age when NZ players make their debuts in SR.

That’s just a difference in standards. You’re confusing SR for being their local domestic comps, where it’s more accurately comparable to Champions Cup, apart from that teams are happy to throw games as it’s in a bit of a limbo in terms of importance atm.


All these kids have been playing for a comparable NPC team for years now. Sam is no where near ready for tests but he has a great temperament, much like Sextons, that makes it a good choice to speed up his development. He wasn’t even a comparable Super Rugby starter before playing for Ireland, so not a great comparison.


Fin would be much better example, but then England don’t have 3 world class Test tens in front of him (not that I’d put Beauden their but obviously in terms of young NZ players chances, he is). Would he otherwise have debuted at the same age as Fergus Burke (injury and leaving withstanding), around 24, a couple of years later? England also aren’t as pedantic to who they give jerseys to, in NZ a test jersey is very hard earned for the most part.


In general I think the effects are as you say, but the only difference is the money involved, as you yourself said, their paths are just as all over the show being loaned out playing for clubs etc. My solution to that, and what you perceive as the problem, would be to introduce university football that utilitizes the large investment they have into high performance sport.

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J
Jennifer Ross 5 hours ago
One rule for Europe's copycats, another for the Springboks

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28 Go to comments
J
Jennifer Ross 5 hours ago
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LONG READ
LONG READ Where is the new breed of All Black 10? Where is the new breed of All Black 10?
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