Bath
EWAN WHOSE ARMY. BATH v GLOUCESTER
Richards: convincing
IMAGO/PPAUK
By theredseat
November 10 2026
That was a pretty enjoyable start to the PREM Cup block was it not? Ewan Richards led his crew of mostly fringe first teamers, prospects and students down to Sandy Park and produced arguably the most convincing 80 minutes of rugby a Bath team has managed all season. The Cup rolls on with Gloucester coming down the M5 to visit The Rec this weekend with both teams holding one win and one defeat from their opening two fixtures.
Bath continue to use the PREM Cup to mostly build experience for younger players and the expectation would be a broadly similar line up to be used again for this fixture. Unsurprisingly it was the younger players with more significant first team experience in the likes of Arthur Green and Ciaran Donoghue who particularly stood out in Exeter but with plenty of key PREM and Euro fixtures still to come it will be interesting to see if they are given a full block of Cup games to show what we know they can do or whether they are deployed more sparingly with future battles in mind.
Most recent injury reports from Rory Murray’s desk suggest an imminent return to play for one or two first team squad members with Will Muir a possibility to occupy Horse Corner again on Saturday. The game may come too soon for Vilkesa Sela though who was previously targeting a late November come back. We may also see a pre-league tune up for Quinn Roux in the next fortnight now his hush hush training knock seems to be sorted.
For the visitors who are now right in the thick of the playoff picture and with their own cohort of stars away on international duty it seems safe to assume they will send a similarly developmental line up. Some names to watch out for include the Knight brothers and Junior Denny who are exciting athletes in the back line and the quadruple barrelled forward combo of Freddie Ogden-Metherell and Kealan Freeman-Price. All have featured in England’s recent age group squads and should offer a good comparison for some of our own young prospects.
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10/11/2026 08:21
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I think - and very much hope- that Bath will stick to recent script and deploy the "Purples" for these early rounds as much as possible.
Maybe we will go stronger in the knockout phases, depending in progress in other competitions?
PG
Great title!!
Quote:theredseat
Sam Winters on duty for the Uni side tomorrow night which would presumably rule him out of starting on Saturday. Given he played on the left wing last week that seems a reasonable indicator of seeing Muir back on the field for this one. Just call me the Horse Whisperer if so...
...or Hoarse Whisperer?
Quote:theredseat
Sam Winters on duty for the Uni side tomorrow night which would presumably rule him out of starting on Saturday. Given he played on the left wing last week that seems a reasonable indicator of seeing Muir back on the field for this one. Just call me the Horse Whisperer if so...
Perhaps, but equally it might mean the Jack Woods fills that spot as he is not in the uni 23.
