“It was a high-quality game between two very good teams and I’m very glad about the five points”
Press Association Sport Staff
14:44, 04 Jan 2026
Bath Rugby players celebrate a last-minute try during the Gallagher Premiership match at The Recreation Ground in Bath. Picture date: Saturday January 3, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: David Davies/PA Wire.
(Image: PA)
A last-gasp try rounding off a sequence of 38 breakdown phases left Bath head of rugby Johann van Graan a very happy man after a roller-coaster of a 33-26 Gallagher PREM derby win over Exeter at the Recreation Ground.
Bath lost a 26-point lead only to snatch back victory in the most dramatic fashion at the death through Arthur Green to move back to the top of the Gallagher PREM table.
Reflecting on his side’s victory, Van Graan said: “It was a high-quality game between two very good teams and I’m very glad about the five points.
“What I’m most pleased about is that we got the ball back from the kick-off and then to keep the ball for 38 phases and score right next to the sticks, that’s how you want to finish.
“It’s something that we train a lot. It’s a big part of the game.”
He added an appreciative comment on referee Luke Pearce’s role, saying: “If you look at the global game, once it comes down to the last play or two of the game, the very best referees don’t make a decision.
“They let the two teams fight it out and we won that battle.
“I think overall I’m pretty happy with our performance. We defended a lot better and we came up against a team that once we gave them entries, they finished them pretty well. So huge respect for Exeter and yeah, a good game of rugby.”
(Image: PA)
Van Graan, who had to pick his side up after defeat at home to Northampton last weekend, added: “I think you saw in that first 20 minutes, that we were hurt. We don’t lose at home often.
“We want to start every game well. I thought tonight from a ball-in-hand point of view, that was some of the best rugby that we’ve played.
“The try that we scored straight off the other one – when we ran it off from the kick-off – was a massive moment in the game. Sometimes, you’ve got to punch and punch again and I thought we did that really well tonight.”
The drama began in the opening seconds when Henry Arundell was upended by opposite number Cambell Ridl and Pearce showed the left wing a red card, reducing the visitors to 14 players for 20 minutes.
Players of Bath clash with Campbell Ridl of Exeter Chiefs after a tackle that resulted in a red card (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
Bath took advantage and scored four tries in rapid succession through Beno Obano, Alfie Barbeary, Santi Carreras and Ollie Lawrence, with Finn Russell adding three conversions.
Joseph Dweba, Olly Woodburn, Greg Fisilau and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso replied for Exeter – as Henry Slade added the extras – before Green crossed over late on to win it for the hosts.
Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter said: “Fair play to Bath, they kept the ball with 30-odd phases which shows a lot of character from them.
“We defended for that period of time without really erring until they actually finally got us over the line.
“It’s probably the story of the game. They just had that little bit of composure at the right times and that just was enough to see them home, I think.”
Santi Carreras and Ross Molony of Bath Rugby celebrate after their team scored a try. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
Happy with the four-try bonus point and a losing bonus point too, Baxter stressed that his side’s recent form in moving into the top four was reward for a very good pre-season.
He added: “It was very focused on what we wanted from the team and what we wanted from the individuals within the team.
“I genuinely think the lads are thriving on that. They know their roles and they know where to put their energy. That’s why that 20-minute period was a little frustrating, because our energy just went everywhere.
“We can’t just solve it by throwing energy at absolutely everything. We had guys darting out of line defensively, didn’t we?
“The really pleasing thing though is we can genuinely sit and talk about that and work on it now and it’s there, it sits right in front of their faces and that will be a really important lesson for us.”
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