Randall makes England case in win over Bath

Yesterday at 03:44 PM

PREMIERSHIP SATURDAY WRAP: Bristol boss Pat Lam underlined Harry Randall's England credentials after the scrumhalf inspired a 36-26 win over Bath to send his team to the top of the English Premiership on Saturday.

Randall toured New Zealand with England this July and is hoping to feature in the November internationals.

Current England No.9 Alex Mitchell is battling to overcome a neck problem in time for the opener against the All Blacks on November 2.

And England head coach Steve Borthwick will consider the claims of players like Randall, who made his Test debut in 2021, Bath scrumhalf Ben Spencer and Leicester's Jack van Poortvliet.

Randall gave a reminder of his qualities with an influential display against Bath at the Recreation Ground.

"I have a huge demand on our nines, they have to be the fastest on the park," Bristol Rugby Director Lam said.

"One of the feedbacks from Steve was he wanted the nines to be quicker.

"One hundred percent, Ben Spencer is a really good player, but his teams tend to kick more. Harry's strength is his speed, his sniping and his ability to put teams under pressure.

"If they want a like for like for Mitchell, if he is out, then Harry's that man."

Bath's first defeat of the season came after a dominant first-half display from a Bristol side inspired by flank Santiago Grondona.

He scored two tries, while there were also touchdowns for Max Malins, Benhard Janse van Rensburg and Gabriel Oghre, with AJ MacGinty kicking four conversions and a penalty.

Leicester scored seven tries to rout struggling Newcastle 42-10 at Kingston Park.

The Tigers' second win this term condemned bottom-of-the-table Newcastle to a 24th consecutive defeat in the Premiership.

Leicester were without head coach Michael Cheika due to a one-match ban but his absence didn't stop them running riot thanks to tries from Ollie Hassell-Collins, Anthony Watson, Emeka Ilione, Freddie Steward, George Martin, Will Wand and Hanro Liebenberg.

See below for Saturday's scores and scorers!

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Bath 26-36 Bristol

For Bath:
Tries: Harris, Butt, Molony, Lawrence
Cons: Russell 3

For Bristol:
Tries: Malins, Grondona 2, Janse van Rensburg, Oghre
Cons: MacGinty 4
Pen: MacGinty

Teams:

Bath: 15 Sam Harris, 14 Tom de Glanville, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Will Butt, 11 Ruaridh McConnochie, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer (captain), 8 Miles Reid, 7 Guy Pepper, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Niall Annett, 1 Beno Obano.
Replacements: 16 Tom Dunn, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Sam Underhill, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Cameron Redpath, 23 Jaco Coetzee.

Bristol: 15 Max Malins, 14 Gabriel Ibitoye, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 James Williams, 11 Rich Lane, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Fitz Harding (captain), 7 Santiago Grondona, 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Joe Batley, 4 James Dun, 3 Max Lahiff, 2 Gabriel Oghre, 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16 Will Capon, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 George Kloska, 19 Joe Owen, 20 Benjamin Grondona, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Joe Jenkins, 23 Jack Bates.

Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe, Jamie Leahy
TMO: Dean Richards

Newcastle 10-42 Leicester

For Newcastle:
Try: Chick
Con: Grayson
Pen: Grayson

For Leicester:
Tries: Hassell-Collins, Watson, Ilione, Steward, Martin, Wand, Liebenberg
Cons: Shillcock 2
Pen: Shillcock

Teams:

Newcastle Falcons: 15 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 14 Ben Redshaw, 13 Connor Doherty, 12 Sammy Arnold, 11 Ben Stevenson, 10 Ethan Grayson, 9 Sam Stuart, 8 Callum Chick (captain), 7 Tom Gordon, 6 Philip van der Walt, 5 Kiran McDonald, 4 John Hawkins, 3 Richard Palframan, 2 Jamie Blamire, 1 Adam Brocklebank.
Replacements: 16 Ollie Fletcher, 17 Luan de Bruin, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Pedro Rubiolo, 20 Freddie Lockwood, 21 Joe Davis, 22 Oli Spencer, 23 Louis Brown.

Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Izaia Perese, 12 Joseph Woodward, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Jamie Shillcock, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Kyle Hatherell, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Hanro Liebenberg, 5 Ollie Chessum (captain), 4 George Martin, 3 Will Hurd, 2 Charlie Clare, 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Archie Vanes, 17 James Cronin, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Emeka Ilione, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Ben Volavola, 23 Will Wand.

Referee: Jack Makepeace
Assistant referees: Adam Leal, Peter Allan
TMO: Hamish Smales