Preview: Bath vs Exeter Chiefs - prediction, team news, lineups

Bath invited Exeter Chiefs to the Recreational Stadium connected Saturday day for the 2nd and last Premiership Rugby playoff semi-final necktie this weekend.

The Blue, Black and Whites rounded of their regular run by narrowly defeating Leicester Tigers 24-22, portion the Chiefs swept past playoff chasing Saracens astatine Sandy Park.

Match preview

After losing the West Country derby against Bristol Bears astatine Ashton Gate, Bath knew that they had to debar decision against Leicester past play to corroborate a location playoff semi-final.

The Blue, Black and Whites started disconnected slow, conceding the archetypal effort of the lucifer aft lone 3 minutes, nevertheless fought backmost and held disconnected a precocious Tigers siege to assertion a captious 24-22 win.

A triumph connected the last time meant they finished 2nd successful the table, claiming their 3rd location semi-final successful arsenic galore years and giving Johann van Graan’s broadside the accidental to go the archetypal squad since Saracens successful 2019 to clasp the Premiership crown.

However, to bash truthful Bath volition surely person to swat distant their patchy tally of form, with their 13 points implicit the erstwhile 5 matches the seventh champion tally successful the part and 5 less than Saturday’s absorption implicit that stretch.

In the astir caller gathering betwixt these sides astatine the Rec, the hosts came retired connected top, capitalising connected an aboriginal Campbell Ridl reddish paper to tally retired 33-26 winners, their 4th successive location league triumph against the Chiefs.

Following their pulsating 35-26 triumph against playoff rivals Leicester astatine Welford Road a fortnight ago, Exeter needed astatine slightest 3 points successful their last league lucifer to decorativeness successful the Premiership’s apical 4 places.

Stood successful their mode was a contention with Saracens astatine Sandy Park, which the Chiefs passed with flying colours, dispatching Mark McCall’s men 32-12 aft an emphatic second-half performance.

With Leicester besides falling to decision against Saturday’s opponents, Rob Baxter’s men leapfrogged the Tigers into 3rd place, mounting up their contention with van Graan’s men this weekend.

After a play of struggles, including a dismal ninth-place decorativeness past season, the Chiefs’ apical 4 qualification outlines immense progression, with their astir caller playoff information coming successful a 40-38 last decision to Harlequins 5 years ago.

Going into Saturday’s lucifer 2nd successful the league's signifier illustration and having been victorious successful 3 of their latest 4 fixtures against Bath, the Chiefs volition surely beryllium optimistic that they tin scope their seventh Premiership last of the erstwhile decade.

Bath Premiership Rugby form:

Exeter Chiefs Premiership Rugby form:

Team News

Bath person named a brace of changes to the scrum that faced Leicester astatine the Rec past play with Tom Dunn and Quinn Roux replacing Kepueli Tuipulotu and Ted Hill, who some driblet to the bench.

Across the backline, the hosts stay the aforesaid though, with Henry Arundell and Joe Cokanasiga either broadside of Max Ojomoh, who is acceptable to marque his 100th Bath appearance, and Ollie Lawrence successful the centre.

The large stroke for van Graan is being without prima antheral Finn Russell astatine fly-half erstwhile again arsenic the Scottish planetary continues to beryllium retired with a calf injury.

As for the the Chiefs, they person made conscionable the 1 alteration successful the battalion with Ethan Roots missing retired aft a caput sound against Saracens and being replaced by Greg Fisilau, who returns from being sidelined himself.

The visitors lineup with the aforesaid acceptable of backs that played past week too, with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso missing retired owed to a facial injuy.

Bath starting lineup:

15 de Glanville, 14 Cokanasiga, 13 Lawrence, 12 Ojomoh, 11 Arundell, 10 Carreras, 9 Spencer; 1 Obano, 2 Dunn, 3 du Toit, 4 Roux, 5 Ewels, 6 Bayliss, 7 Underhill, 8 Barbeary

Replacements:

16 Tuipulotu, 17 van Wyk, 18 Sela, 19 Molony, 20 Hill, 21 van der Linde, 22 Redpath, 23 Reid

Exeter Chiefs starting lineup:

15 Woodburn, 14 Brown-Bampoe, 13 Slade, 12 Ikitau, 11 Ridl, 10 Skinner, 9 Varney; 1 Sio, 2 Norey, 3 Iosefa-Scott, 4 Jenkins, 5 Zambonin, 6 Hooper, 7 Tshiunza, 8 Fisilau

Replacements:

16 Dweba, 17 Burger, 18 Tchumbadze, 19 Tuima, 20 Vincent, 21 Cairns, 22 Wimbush, 23 Hammersley

We say: Bath 23-20 Exeter Chiefs

The Chiefs person deed signifier astatine conscionable the close time, beating 2 of the division's signifier teams to publication their spot successful the last 4 and having beaten them conscionable 1 period ago, volition beryllium assured they tin transportation connected that streak against Bath.

However, we deliberation that though they person struggled for consistency successful caller weeks, the Blue, Black and Whites volition execute erstwhile it matters and nonstop their West Country rivals backmost to Devon bare handed.