Those who prefer their rugby cagey and tactical would have left a sold-out Rec disappointed. Everyone else was treated to 11 tries – seven of them in the first half – as ball carriers ran over papier-mache tacklers and through porous defensive lines. Though it was thrilling, it often felt too easy for those on attack, especially Finn Russell, who kept Bath ticking in a seven-try bonus-point win.
The Scot outshone Marcus Smith, who was shown the yellow card in the first half and then shunted from fly-half to full-back when he returned from the sin-bin.
Not that Smith could be blamed for the result. His teammates were bossed at the breakdown and could barely get a touch of the ball in a frenetic opening 24 minutes when four Bath players crossed the line and two Harlequins players were shown yellow. With a 26-0 lead, the home side had effectively secured the contest.
Joe Cokanasiga got things going with a strong finish in the corner, holding off the challenge of Rodrigo Isgro, who was lucky to escape a straight red for a head-on-head hit. With the man advantage, Bath tore through Harlequins, with Ted Hill providing the finishing touch after several dominant carries.
Then Smith was sent to the sin-bin for disrupting clean ball close to his line and Ross Molony’s close-range score widened the gap before Will Muir rounded off a blistering break on the left ignited by Max Ojomoh and the impressive Tom de Glanville.
Harlequins would have been hoping for a repeat of the heist they pulled off in 2021 when they overturned a 28-0 deficit to beat Bristol in the Premiership semi-final at Ashton Gate.
Luke Northmore started and finished a move and prop Titi Lamositele rumbled over to provide echoes of that game. Bath, though, would have the final word of the half with a second for Muir on the left after a 30-metre run from hooker Tom Dunn, who gathered a lucky bounce off a contestable kick.
“It was a crazy game,” said Bath’s head of rugby, Johann van Graan. “We spoke about controlling what we can and we started the first 25 minutes extremely well. We’re satisfied with 10 points out of our last two weeks.”
Harlequins were the first to score after the break. “They’re a class team,” Van Graan said. Fin Baxter, one of three returning England players for the visitors along with Smith and Chandler Cunningham-South, barged over to keep the faint hope of a comeback alive. That looked less likely when Ojomoh snatched an intercept and ran home from 80 metres.
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Russell had the ball on a string throughout. His job was made easier thanks to Bath’s dominance in contact that was maintained with the introduction of four forwards before the hour, including the South Africa prop Francois van Wyk, who ran a superb support line off Ben Spencer’s shoulder to cap off a swift counterattack from an aimless box kick from Danny Care.
Bath could have had more were it not for Cameron Redpath’s knock-on in space and Cokanasiga’s forward pass to Spencer on the wing. Instead it was Sam Riley with the final try to procure a bonus point for Harlequins. “We got the five points and that puts us in a good position,” Van Graan said.
Bath are comfortably clear at the top of the Premiership and will travel to Pau for Friday’s Champions Cup knockout game with key men in top form.