Lawrence shines on a night of spectacle

FOR a derby that has been played for more than a century, this was a contest for the ages. It ebbed, it flowed, and there were mini-battles everywhere. It was a sell-out spectacle to hearten the West Country’s rugby soul.

- TOM BRADSHAW

There were some fine individual performances, but one man stood out and ultimately tipped the scales in Bath’s favour. Just. Ollie Lawrence was a colossus at outside centre, and it was his running that shifted the balance of the match in Bath’s favour after Bristol’s strong start had seen Magnus Bradbury touch down.

The England centre marries bulk with agility, and this was a display of a man who is clearly ravenous for more action on the international stage following his time at the World Cup.

Bath head of rugby Johann van Graan said: “Ollie was excellent. We had a good setpiece base to attack from and we did our homework on them as they did on us, and we put Ollie through a few holes.”

Lawrence scored Bath’s first with a bullocking run back against the grain, and was instrumental in the second moments later when canny interplay saw Ben Spencer polish off an exhilarating counter-attack from the restart.

Both teams defied the soggy conditions to try and put width on the ball.