Bath Rugby Academy duo Will Jeanes and Mackenzie Graham started together in the second row while Byron Lloyd-Gilmour was named at full-back.

Josh Dingley returned from England Under-20 duty to feature as a replacement while Harvey Cuckson, who signed for Bath from Worcester Warriors in the autumn, made his long return from injury.

The final Academy player involved was Max Pearce with the hooker coming on and scoring two tries as the University of Bath fought back 17-7 down to take two points from the fixture.

Team Bath sit third in the table after 14 games played two points behind leaders Loughborough who they go head-to-head with on Wednesday 16 February.

Meanwhile, the University of Bath’s BUCS Super Rugby programme has received praise for its ‘pastoral care’ which enables student-athletes to ‘excel on and off the pitch’ in an annual audit by the league.

A high number of Bath Rugby Academy players have featured for the University side this season with further involvement seeing Mark Lilley and Ryan Davis coach the squad.

Delegates visited the University during January to meet coaching and support staff, view facilities at the Team Bath Sport Training Village and have general discussions regarding the rugby programme.

The report gave Bath an audit score of 98 per cent and highlighted ‘the incredibly friendly, open and supportive environment which the staff at Bath create’, saying it ‘undoubtedly’ contributed to a programme where students were able to excel on and off the pitch. It also praised the emphasis on player welfare, in particular injury and concussion management.

Stephen Baddeley, Director of Sport at the University of Bath, said: “Well done to everyone concerned. The audit report is a well-deserved testament to the quality of the programme the coaches, players and support staff work tirelessly to deliver.”

Team Bath fight back to draw against Durham

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