Bath Rugby Under-18s put in a fine performance to condemn London Irish to their defeat of the Academy League season.

The junior Blue, Black and White recorded a 15-12 away victory with Henry Bartlett, James Short and Kacey Pike scoring the tries at Hazelwood Centre.

Irish took an early five-minute lead through Sam Rockley but three first-half scores moved Bath into a comfortable lead.

The first came from Bartlett who added to his two finishes from last week in the win over Exeter Chiefs. A flowing move from the centre of the field to the right wing saw the Beechen Cliff and Dorchester RFC wide man go over.

Short (Beechen Cliff and Keynsham RFC) finished off another delightful attack midway through the first period. Beechen Cliff and Walcot RFC fly-half Raff Weston pulled a pass in behind for Rory Crum to take on and the Beechen Cliff and Bournemouth RFC midfielder delivered ball to his centre partner to dot down.

Bath completed their scoring just before half-time with Pike making it four tries in two games. The Beechen Cliff and Trowbridge RFC hooker crashed over following a neat line-out sent him rampaging into the corner.

Irish hit back in the second half as Ben Frampton crossed for a converted try but Bath’s defence was incredibly strong and held out the Exiles in an impressive win.

On the win, Head of Academy Craig Lilley said: “We are really proud of the spirit the boys showed in tough conditions.

“Hazelwood is always a challenging place to play, and London Irish put our defence under a lot of pressure for certain parts of the game.

"On top of this, I thought some of the attacking rugby and variation particularly from the line-out was excellent after scoring a number of maul tries last week.

“It was a really pleasing display and a positive result.”

watch bath rugby u18 at the rec this month...FOr free!

Bath Rugby U18 will be taking on Harlequins U18 on Saturday 21 January (kick-off 14:00) in Round 5 of the Premiership Rugby U18 ACE League.

You can watch the game for FREE at the home of Bath Rugby.

The event is open to all, so spread the word and let's pack out The Rec for the Bath Rugby stars of tomorrow.

REGISTER YOUR FREE TICKETS HERE

Bath Rugby U18 end London Irish's unbeaten run with victory

Related News