RFU confirm Harlequins controversial 40-36 win over Bath will stand; Bath had scored 33 unanswered points in second half only to fall just short; Quins Irne Herbst only spent seven minutes in the sin bin - leading Bath to complain
Sunday 31 March 2024 12:25, UK
The RFU has apologised for an officiating error after Harlequins held off a storming Bath comeback for a win that lifted them back into the Premiership play-off places.
A controversial incident late in the game saw Quins replacement Irne Herbst spend only seven of the allotted 10 minutes off the pitch despite being sin-binned.
The visitors had rallied from a 40-3 deficit just after half-time, scoring 33 unanswered points in the last half-hour. It was enough for them to leapfrog Saracens into second in the Premiership table but not earn an improbable victory.
After the game, Bath head coach Johann van Graan said: "It was a massive call in the context of the game with the player that came back on making the tackle in the corner.
"With a yellow card you are supposed to be off for 10 minutes, not seven. It is going to go to (RFU head of Professional Game Match Officials) Paul Hull and I will let the process follow its course."
The refereeing body responded on Sunday, which confirmed there would be no change to the result or replay of the match.
The statement read: "The RFU Professional Game Match Officials Team (PGMOT) acknowledge and apologise for an error during the Gallagher Premiership match between Harlequins v Bath where a yellow card sanction resulted in Irné Herbst returning to the pitch approximately three minutes too soon.
"We would like to apologise to both teams for this mistake. As is the usual process, the PGMOT will review all games to ensure continued improvement and learnings.
"The result of the match remains final."
Earlier in the game, with England fly-half Marcus Smith pulling the strings, scoring one of the hosts' six tries, it looked as though Quins were going to bounce back in fine style from their thrashing at Saracens last week. They have climbed to fourth in the table but were made to sweat by Bath's epic second-half comeback.
Harlequins opened the scoring inside three minutes when Danny Care, in his first game since announcing his retirement from international rugby, sent Andre Esterhuizen through to score.
Smith added the simple conversion before Finn Russell's penalty put Bath on the board, only for his opposite number to come up with a typical moment of individual excellence.
After receiving the ball from Care, Smith chipped it over the Bath defence before dashing into the space in behind to dot it down himself.
Quins were dominating proceedings and had their third try in the 24th minute when a big overlap on the right led to Will Evans feeding Tyrone Green, whose pass sent Italy winger Louis Lynagh in at the corner.
The bonus point was in the bag for the hosts with half-an-hour played when a catch-and-drive from a line-out led to Alex Dombrandt grounding the ball.
A fantastic first-half performance from Harlequins was then rounded off when slick hands from the irrepressible Smith and Lynagh sent Dombrandt into space on the left, with the latter's unselfish pass giving Evans an easy finish.
The half-time break did nothing to slow Quins down, with Lynagh breaking clear before passing to Oscar Beard, who sent midfielder partner Esterhuizen clear for his second try on his 30th birthday.
Smith's latest conversion took the score out to 40-3 before an extraordinary fightback from Bath began when Will Muir managed to squeeze in down the left, despite the attentions of Lynagh and Green.
The visitors pulled another score back when Russell did superbly to get an offload away for Alfie Barbeary, who bumped off Dombrandt to score, with Harlequins' Irne Herbst sin-binned in the aftermath.
Louis Schreuder then went over from Jacques du Plessis' popped pass before Lynagh saw yellow for deliberately knocking Orlando Bailey's pass intended for Ollie Lawrence forward.
Bath then quickly scored their bonus-point try when quick hands by Schreuder, Bailey and Matt Gallagher led to Ruaridh McConnochie scurrying clear.
With four minutes left, the visitors pulled themselves to within four points when McConnochie's pass put Elliott Stooke in at the corner for a converted try, but they had to settle for the two bonus points in the end.
Bristol Bears kept themselves firmly in the play-off picture in the Gallagher Premiership as they came from behind to defeat rivals Gloucester 33-24 at a packed-out Kingsholm.
Magnus Bradbury's double, plus scores for Fitz Harding, Gabriel Oghre and Benhard Janse van Rensburg, were the highlights as Pat Lam's side maintained their impressive run of form.
Gloucester - who had led 24-19 at the break thanks in the main to scores from Josh Hathaway, Santiago Carreras and Adam McBurney - simply could not cope with the second-half onslaught provided by the visiting Bears.
With both sides coming into the contest on the back of notable wins the previous week, it was Gloucester who set the early attacking tone against their local rivals.
Carreras saw an early penalty chance drift wide, before he was on target with the extras to the game's opening try which arrived just minutes later when winger Hathaway latched onto his own chip over the top to dot down in the nick of time.
Home cheers, however, proved short-lived as the Bears clawed themselves level in an instance, Harding finishing off good approach work involving Steven Luatua, Ellis Genge and Janse van Rensburg, whose looped pass allowed his skipper to cruise over for the score converted by AJ MacGinty.
It was end-to-end stuff from both sides as they traded blows in attack, but it was the hosts who gave themselves some much-needed breathing space as they hit the Bears with two tries in the space of three minutes.
Carreras profited for the first, intercepting a pass from MacGinty to race in unopposed from deep inside his own 22, before hooker McBurney added a third when he rounded off a slick home move that had seen Chris Harris and Max Llewellyn combine to deadly effect in midfield.
Despite the deficit, the Bears were still fiercely competitive and hauled themselves back into the contest when Oghre was able to power his way over by the home posts following a burst through the heart of the Gloucester defensive line.
A penalty from Carreras just past the half-hour mark allowed Gloucester to extend their lead back to 10 points, only for the Bears to once again pounce, this time through Bradbury, who was able to squeeze over in the corner following an initial burst from Harding and then smart follow-up play from Gabriel Ibitoye.
The score, plus a crucial try-saving tackle from Max Malins on Freddie Clarke, had given the Bears a real lifeline to take into the second half and they looked to build on that quickly after the restart. Malins threatened with a trademark burst through the middle, whilst Noah Heward saw a good chance spurned with a knock-on just yards from the Gloucester line.
For all Bristol's huff and puff in attack, Lam's side were struggling to turn possession and territory into points in front of watching England head coach Steve Borthwick.
Stubborn Gloucester resistance, combined with some elementary errors in attack, were proving costly for the Bears, but eventually their pressure paid dividends when Bradbury was able to find his way over from close range. MacGinty converted to put his side in front for the first time in the match.
It was just reward for their efforts and the Bears wrapped the game up with just five minutes remaining when Janse van Rensburg brushed aside the attentions of a Gloucester rival to race over for the converted score.
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