Fans return to Bath for west country derby against Gloucester

Bath will welcome fans back to the Recreation Ground on Tuesday as they target another major step towards the Gallagher Premiership play-offs.

Victory over Gloucester would take Bath second in the table behind runaway leaders Exeter.

Their final league game is away to Saracens on Sunday week, with play-off rivals Wasps, Sale Sharks and Bristol all having two matches left.

Video Player is loading.

Play Video

PlaySkip BackwardSkip Forward

Unmute

Current Time 0:00

/

Duration 0:00

Loaded: 0%

Stream Type LIVE

Seek to live, currently behind liveLIVE

Remaining Time -0:00

 

1x

Playback Rate

Chapters

• Chapters

Descriptions

• descriptions off, selected

Captions

• captions settings, opens captions settings dialog
• captions off, selected

Audio Track

Fullscreen

This is a modal window.

The Video Cloud video was not found.

Error Code: VIDEO_CLOUD_ERR_VIDEO_NOT_FOUND

Session ID: 2025-06-20:7f030d59e908d4e71f39000 Player Element ID: brightcove-embedded-video

OK

Close Modal Dialog

Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.

Text

ColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityOpaqueSemi-Transparent

Text Background

ColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparent

Caption Area Background

ColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaque

Font Size

50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%

Text Edge Style

NoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop shadow

Font Family

Proportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall Caps

ResetDone

Close Modal Dialog

End of dialog window.

Close Modal Dialog

This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.

The west country derby will see 1,000 fans attend in a third crowd pilot Premiership fixture, after matches at Harlequins and Gloucester earlier this month.

“For us, it is a great opportunity now because we have worked hard and put ourselves in a position for it to be a good opportunity,” Bath rugby director Stuart Hooper said.

“If we had won only two games from the seven (since the Premiership restarted last month) then it wouldn’t be, so it is a real opportunity for us, but it is because we have created it.

“It has been good for the lads to have a good couple of days off before we have regrouped and prepared to get going again.

“They have been flat out and giving us absolutely everything.”

Bath were beaten 29-15 by Gloucester when the clubs last met eight months ago, but Hooper added: “We have developed a fair bit since then.

“They performed well in that game. Take nothing away from them, they deserved the victory and I think that we were pretty off that day.

“It is a new fixture, it’s another opportunity and we won’t be dwelling on what happened in the past.”

Bath underlined their play-off credentials with an impressive win at Sale last time out.

Hooper has made four changes from that game, calling up full-back Anthony Watson, wing Semesa Rokoduguni, lock Elliott Stooke and flanker Tom Ellis.

And there is a return on the replacements’ bench for England wing Joe Cokanasiga, who has not played since last autumn’s Rugby World Cup due to a knee injury.

Eighth-placed Gloucester have replaced Danny Cipriani at fly-half with Lloyd Evans, while England scrum-half Willi Heinz makes a return from injury and features for the first time since Premiership rugby resumed on August 14.

Elsewhere, Matt Banahan lines up against his former club, Billy Twelvetrees returns in midfield and lock Matias Alemanno is handed a full debut.