Match Preview: Bath Rugby v Bristol Bears

Bath Rugby will bid to maintain their winning start to the new season when Bristol Bears make the short trip to The Rec for a crunch West Country derby live on TNT Sports.

Bath are two from two after wins over Northampton Saints and Leicester Tigers but lost their last encounter to the Bears - a 57-44 thriller at Ashton Gate in January.

Prior to that Bears big win, each of the previous four meetings between the sides were decided by no more than two points - so expect this one to be tight.

Pat Lam's side have already claimed bragging rights in one derby encounter this season, having beaten Gloucester Rugby 44-41 last time out.

Bath captain Ben Spencer will reach his 100th cap in Blue, Black and White while Thomas du Toit has returned to the starting line-up, fresh from aiding the Springboks to victory in the Rugby Championship.

In a further boost to Johann van Graan's side, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath will return to the field from the bench after being side-lined during a spell of rehabilitation in the off-season. 

Meanwhile, Santiago Grondona will make his long-awaited Bristol Bears debut. The Argentina international, who missed the whole of last season with a knee injury, returns from international duty to start on the openside flank in place of the injured Jake Heena.

Grondona is one of two changes to the XV that faced Gloucester last week, with Rich Lane replacing the injured Siva Naulago (fractured cheekbone) on the wing.

Among the replacements, Joe Owen replaces Josh Caulfield (concussion) while Jack Bates is named at no.23, as Pat Lam includes eight current or former Academy players in his matchday squad.

TV: Live on TNT, kick-off 3.05pm

Referee: Christophe Ridley

Assistant Referees: Anthony Woodthorpe & Jamie Leahy

TMO: Dean Richards

Team news

Bath Rugby: 15 Sam Harris, 14 Tom de Glanville, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Will Butt, 11 Ruaridh McConnochie, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer (c); 1 Beno Obano, 2 Niall Annett, 3 Thomas du Toit, 4 Quinn Roux, 5 Charlie Ewels, 6 Ted Hill, 7 Guy Pepper, 8 Miles Reid

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 Bears: 15. Max Malins, 14. Gabriel Ibitoye, 13. Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12. James Williams, 11. Rich Lane, 10. AJ MacGinty, 9. Harry Randall; 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Gabriel Oghre, 3. Max Lahiff, 4. James Dun, 5. Joe Batley, 6. Steven Luatua, 7. Santiago Grondona, 8. Fitz Harding (c)

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

Oval Insights

Bath Rugby

• Ollie Lawrence made two clean breaks, three offloads - including a try assist - 69 metres, and won a turnover at the weekend.
• Bath lead the league for turnovers won (20), a league-high nine of which were made in the tackle.
• Bath have successfully crossed the gainline with 48.7% of their carries – the highest rate in the league. They have also averaged the most metres per carry (3.8).

Bristol Bears

• Gabriel Ibitoye, James Williams, and Siva Naulago each made the joint-most offloads at the weekend: three apiece.
• AJ MacGinty was the only player in Round 2 who made four clean breaks. He also scored 11 points and assisted a try.
• The Bears are the only team that have scored ten tries this season. They are also top of carry metres (974), post-contact metres (286), offloads (39), defenders beaten (59), and clean breaks (24).