Bath 63-10 Edinburgh: England hopeful Alfie Barbeary runs riot as Bath secure home Champions Cup tie

Edinburgh opened the scoring inside the first three minutes after Tom Dunn was penalised for standing in the ruck. Ross Thompson stepped up from range and slotted the kick to give the visitors an early lead. Bath responded quickly, kicking a penalty to touch five metres out, but Edinburgh disrupted the line-out on their own line, and Ben Vellacott cleared the danger.

Another Bath opportunity came soon after from a five-metre line-out, with advantage played following a collapsed maul. Bath opted to return for the penalty, taking it quickly as Sam Pepper fed Thomas du Toit, who powered over from close range for the opening try in the 15th minute. Finn Russell added the conversion.

Bath struck again just minutes later. A loose ball following the restart almost resulted in a second try as Pepper chased towards the whitewash, but Malelili Satala recovered to force a scrum. From the resulting set-piece, Bath’s pack proved too strong, driving over for a penalty try, with Alfie Barbeary breaking free as the score was awarded in the 18th minute.

The pressure continued after an Edinburgh knock-on deep inside their own 22. Following multiple phases from another attacking scrum, Beno Obano crossed with support from Quinn Roux, and Russell once again converted. Max Ojomoh then made a huge line break, stepping inside from the scrum and racing into the Edinburgh 22, but Freddie Douglas tracked back well to force a turnover.

Edinburgh finally found some momentum just before the break. Harry Patterson broke through before moving the ball to Vellacott, with Piers O’Connor supporting to finish between the posts and reduce the deficit. Bath had the final say of the half. From yet another penalty line-out, a sustained multi-phase attack ended with Dunn crashing over in the 41st minute, completing a front-row try set, and securing the bonus point. Russell added the extras to cap a dominant first-half performance.

Bath opened the second-half scoring in the 57th minute with a moment of real quality. A superb cut-out pass from Ojomoh released Joe Cokanasiga out wide, and the winger danced past three missed tackles before touching down between the posts. Russell maintained his perfect record with the conversion.

Cokanasiga was involved again just four minutes later, bursting through Edinburgh’s defensive line before offloading inside to Ben Spencer, who finished under the posts. The cohesion in Bath’s attack was clear, with runners hitting the right lines at pace. Russell again added the extras in the 61st minute.

Henry Arundell then produced a moment of individual brilliance. From a ruck just outside the whitewash, the ball was moved quickly to Arundell, whose sharp step left Edinburgh defenders grasping at air as he crossed in the 68th minute.

Bath continued to tear Edinburgh apart from inside their own half, moving the ball down the left touchline before Arundell burned the defence on the outside. His offload sent Cokanasiga clear to touch down, pushing Bath past the 50-point mark with ten minutes still to play as Edinburgh’s defence was left scattered.

Barbeary later stole possession and fed the ball forward, with Arundell once again showing his pace to chase through. A clever kick into space nearly resulted in another score, only for James Lang to intervene just in time. However, Bath soon returned with intent.

In the 85th minute, Tom Carr-Smith fed Ojomoh, who beat his defender to score in the right corner, rewarding a tireless performance of assists with a deserved try.

There was almost a final flourish as Dan Frost broke through and offloaded to Russell, who surprisingly knocked on with the line in sight. It mattered little, though, as Bath laughed off the missed opportunity at the final whistle, having done more than enough to top Pool 2.

FULL TIME: BATH 63-10 EDINBURGH

Tries: 6 Du Toit (15’), Barbeary (18’), Obano (31’) Dunn (41’) Cokanasiga (57’, 71’) Spenser (61’) Arundell (68’) Ojomoh (75’)

Conversions: 8 (Russel 15’, 31’, 41’ 57’, 61’, 68’, 71’, 75’)

Penalties:

Yellow cards

Red cards:

15. Tom De Glanville 14. Joe Cokanasiga 13. Ollie Lawrence 12. Max Ojomoh 11. Henry Arundell 10. Finn Russell Linegar 9. Ben Spencer (C) 1. Beno Obano 2. Tom Dunn 3. Thomas Du Toit 4. Quinn Roux 5. Ross Molony 6. Guy Pepper 7. Sam Underhill 8. Alfie Barbeary

Replacements

16. Dan Frost 17. Francois Van Wyk 18. Archie Griffin 19. Ted Hill 20. Miles Reid 21. Tom Carr-smith 22. Santi Carreras 23. Cameron Redpath

Tries: 1

Conversions:

Penalties: 1 (Thompson 3’)

Yellow cards:

Red cards:

15. Harry Paterson 14. Darcy Graham 13. Piers O’Connor 12. James Lang 11. Malelili Satala (debut) 10. Ross Thompson 9. Ben Vellacott (C) 1. James Whitcombe 2. Ewan Ashman 3. Ollie Blyth-Lafferty 4. Callum Hunter-Hill 5. Glen Young 6. Tom Dodd 7. Freddy Douglas 8. Ben Muncaster

Replacements

16. Harri Morris 17. Mikey Jones 18. Paul Hill 19. Euan McVie 20. Connor Boyle 21. Charlie Shiel 22.Ben Healy 23. Jack Brown

Barbeary was the driving force in Bath’s first-half dominance, producing a performance that bordered on unplayable. He carried relentlessly into contact, repeatedly winning collisions and, on one occasion, dragging two Edinburgh defenders with him before finally being brought down. Acting as a one-man battering ram, his physicality set the tone and gave Bath front-foot momentum throughout.

When asked where the recent performances have come from Barbeary said, “It’s the guilt from Christmas, I had a bit of a heavy Christmas”, laughing off what is undeniably hard work.

Reflecting on the game he said: “We just, we had a bit of hunger for this game. We wanted the home knockout stages in the Champions Cup. So that was a big, big thing for us. So, we came out flying, and the results showed.”

Despite never having been capped by England and often struggling to secure a consistent starting role at club level, performances like this, particularly in back-to-back man-of-the-match, demand serious consideration ahead of the Six Nations.

Ojomoh once again showed that his game is about far more than pace. His distribution was excellent, consistently shifting the point of attack and creating space for teammates to exploit, with multiple tries stemming from his involvement.

While he has yet to fully cement a starting place, his all-round skillset and composure stood out. Having impressed during the Autumn Internationals, this display will only strengthen his case for another England call-up.

After a couple of early slips, Arundell quickly reminded everyone why he remains such a dangerous attacking weapon. His hunger to chase kicks and his ability to appear from seemingly nowhere caused constant problems, while his pace allowed him to skin defenders at will. Whether finishing himself or creating opportunities for others, his influence was clear.

He has yet to fully lock down a permanent England role, but with performances like this underline his immense Six Nations potential.

Returning after a spell blighted by injury, Patterson looked sharp and confident at full back. Much of Edinburgh’s attacking threat came through him, and his break to create their first try was a reminder of the impact he made on debut for Scotland.

Considering his long absence from international rugby, this was an encouraging display that may well put him back on the radar ahead of the Six Nations.

Douglas continued his impressive run of form with another standout performance at the breakdown. The 19-year-old repeatedly competed against a powerful Bath back row, forcing turnovers and slowing ball with maturity beyond his years.

His consistency in this area has been eye-catching, and with Gregor Townsend watching on, it is difficult not to speculate whether a first Scotland cap, potentially from the bench, could be on the horizon.