AliousBath Rugby’s young team narrowly lost 29-18 to a nearly full-strength Cardiff Rugby in a pre-season friendly at Arms Park on Friday night, played in wet conditions.
The match began evenly, but Bath’s indiscipline allowed Cardiff to score first through Ioan Stephens.
Bath responded quickly with captain Ewan Richards scoring, converted by Ciaran Donoghue.
Richards scored again after good play from Tyler Offiah.
Bath’s inexperience showed just before halftime, failing to clear their lines and allowing Dan Thomas to score for Cardiff, reducing Bath’s lead to 15-12 at the break.
After halftime, Cardiff took the lead with Liam Belcher’s try, but Bath fought back with a Donoghue penalty.
Cardiff’s powerful lineout maul led to James Botham scoring, and Dan Hughes sealed the win late on.
Despite the loss, Bath head of rugby Johann van Graan praised his young team’s effort, noting several players aged 17-18 made their debuts.
He emphasized the positive of playing over 50 players across the weekend’s fixtures.
The report includes the full team lineups for both sides.
Alious
