October is early for statements, but Bath laid one down with a dogged away triumph that was snatched at the death by Francois Wyk.
The visitors did not lead until the 78th minute when their replacement loosehead prop burrowed over, and Harlequins will be dejected. In a Premiership comprising just 18 regular season fixtures, a campaign can quickly get away from you and they have already lost three from five.
On a still and mild evening, Bath’s stacked squad was always going to pose the question of whether the hosts could back up their heroics against Saracens. That victory just six days previously had clearly exacted an immense physical and emotional toll.
As far as creating an atmosphere at the Twickenham Stoop, Harlequins are unquestionably onto a good thing. Here, the players responded. Rodrigo Isgró, the Argentina sevens star, bagged a debut double and there was another fine display from Jack Kenningham. Marcus Smith and Alex Dombrandt warmed up for England’s autumn impressively, as well.
Ultimately, though, Bath dug deeper. Ollie Lawrence demonstrated moments of class and Guy Pepper – not yet in England’s plans – is a menacing operator in the back row. Still 21, he has some future ahead.
An unbroken passage of five minutes from kick-off set an exhausting tone. The deceptively powerful Pepper sent bodies skittling at a breakdown and Bath moved up the pitch until Harlequins stole and cleared, eventually picking up a penalty from which they hit touch.
Dombrandt’s selection by Steve Borthwick in England’s squad for the autumn represents a significant show of faith given the form of Tom Willis. While he may not be a No 8 to batter into brick walls 20 times a game, Dombrandt possesses an array of subtle skills. One diving offload from the base of a retreating scrum in the second half was especially polished.
Another fillip in Dombradt’s favour is a telepathic relationship with Smith. On the second phase following a Harlequins line-out, he took a pass from his fly-half behind the run of Oscar Beard. Accelerating onto the ball, Dombrandt arced around Lawrence and over.
Alfie Barbeary’s game ended after just 10 minutes due to an awkward fall that caused his head to whiplash into the turf and Smith soon crafted a second try. Seemingly darting into a cul-de-sac, he dinked a kick-pass that Isgró climbed above Austin Emens to claim.
Despite the best efforts of Kenningham, Bath hit back through Pepper’s spinning finish. When Tom Dunn saw yellow for a ruck offence, the visitors rallied. Beno Obano was their emergency line-out thrower, and fed a drive that brought them well into enemy territory thanks to a rampaging Jaco Coetzee. Tom de Glanville danced through. The scores were only level for a couple of minutes, Harlequins retaking the lead when Isgró sniped for a debut double.
Fearful depth makes Bath a tough team to shake off. Thomas du Toit, arguably the Premiership’s best front-rower, arrived off the bench with half an hour remaining. Harlequins responded by unleashing Joe Marler, Nathan Jibulu and Chandler Cunningham-South. The latter, poised to be a valuable game-breaker for England this autumn, stormed directly up the middle into the opposition 22 with his first touch. Moments later, Pepper pounced for a turnover.
In front of an observing Richard Hill, Bath’s arch scavenger continued to live on the edge and toppled over it to receive a yellow card on the hour mark. Smith, who had released Luke Northmore, converted the penalty but Bath again made light of their numerical disadvantage, Emens scampering close before Du Toit crashed over.
With three minutes remaining, Cunningham-South crept offside to give Bath a chance. Russell fizzed at the line with heavy men around him, De Glanville went to within a metre and Van Wyk landed a gut-punch to Harlequins, underlining Bath’s credentials to go one better this term.
