Bath were first on the board just nine minutes in, with Rhys Priestland cleverly switching the play to the short-side, before sending Jack Wilson over in the corner. 5-0

United continued to pile on the pressure, and it wasn’t long before the home side were over for their second try of the evening. United executed a textbook driving maul and it was Josh Bayliss who grounded the ball, with Priestland adding the extras. 12-0

Harlequins nearly found themselves back in the game, but for an impressive piece of cover tackling from the returning Max Clark. A break from James Lang, put the fly-half through the defence, but Clark ensured that the visitors remained scoreless.

The Harlequins breakthrough finally came in the last play of the half. A clever switch between scrum-half Calum Waters and Tim Swiel, sent the fullback over for Harlequins’ opening points of the game. Lang added the conversion to close the gap to five points.

Half-time – Bath United 12-7 Harlequins A

United started the second half quickly, and a nice piece of interplay between Ben Tapuai and Jack Wilson opened up the Quins defence. Wilson then offloaded to replacement Max Green, who finished under the posts. Tapuai made it a seven-point score from the tee, with 51 minutes on the clock. 19-7.

Quins were quick to respond, as Gabriel Ibitoye gathered a clearance kick in the midfield before unleashing his electric pace and footwork on the United defence. The winger then sent Waters through the gap to score and put Harlequins within reach on the scoreboard. 19-14

The momentum of the game continued to shift in favour of the visitors, and Bath United’s defence was tested once again. After going through a number of phases in the United 22, the ball was swept wide to Chisholm, but Wilson miraculously stepped in to prevent a certain try.

With nine minutes to play, Harlequins got in front for the first time in the game. It was Swiel again, who darted through the United defence to make it a brace for the fullback. Lang’s successful conversion gave his side a two-point lead going into the closing stages. 19-21

The game was put beyond doubt, when Harlequins added a fourth try three minutes from time. An impressive run from Henry Cheeseman gave Harlequins the attacking territory, with Cadan Murley providing the crucial break through the United defence to score.

Full-time – Bath United 19-28 Harlequins A

Due to the Anglo-Welsh Cup Final taking place on Friday, this Saturday’s Premiership Rugby A League fixture between Bath United v Exeter Braves at the Rec has been cancelled.

Harlequins A see off Bath United with dominant second-half display

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