Bath Gladiators were on the road for the second successive week of the campaign as they travelled to Oxford in the West of England league.
The Gladiators squad has a number of injuries at the moment and they were without Joe Cockshott and Michael Salter for the game against Oxford, following their injuries against Swindon St George. However, coach Matt Bodey was able to welcome back Sam Pascoe and Josh Frost from injury for the trip to Oxford.
As the game kicked off it was Bath Gladiators who started brightest with Miquel Tomas going over for his first try of the season and Josh Frost adding the extras. Oxford quickly hit back with a converted try of their own before Bath Gladiators began to click. The Gladiators were dominating the game and were rewarded for their slick play with a number of tries. First Jack Dryden crossed the line before Miquel Tomas added his second of the afternoon. The try of the game came for Bath with Jack Dryden breaking free before running the length of the field to ground the ball between the sticks. It was a bitter/sweet moment for Jack as in scoring he strained his hamstring and was unable to take any further part in the game. Bath added a further try from Jack Tanner before Oxford hit back with 2 quick tries to keep the scoreline interesting. The Gladiators ensured a healthy half time lead of 18–34 as Tomas completed his hat-trick just before the break.
Bath Gladiators were good value for their first half lead and looked like they would be able to add to their total in the second half. However, the match day squad had picked up a few knocks in the first half and as the second half got underway it was Oxford Cavaliers who went over the line first. Early in the second half, Matt Bodey took a knock to the head and was forced off with the teams 4th injury of the match resulting in the 13 on the field having to complete the final half an hour without any available interchanges.
Oxford seized the momentum and quickly added 2 more tries in the second half to bring the score to 32-34. The Gladiators who had looked so good in the first half were beginning to tire and were also voicing their displeasure over a number of the referees decisions. Captain Brandon Ball fired back with Baths’ final try of the afternoon. As the second half wore on, the Gladiators team lost its composure and after ignoring a final warning by the referee had Stevan Randall sinbinned for his comment to the referee. It proved to be a pivotal moment in the match as Oxford, now with an extra man, were able to take the initiative and find space in a depleted and tired bath defence. Oxford ran in 3 late tries whilst Bath had another one chalked off and as the clock ran down to Full time, an Oxford break looked to give them a certain try only for a 60 metre chase back by Dean Buchan to ensure Oxford fell short of the line.
As the referee blew his final Oxford Cavaliers celebrated what had seems like an unlikely 46-40 victory at half time and Bath Gladiators were left to rue the injuries and ill discipline that had turned the game in Oxfords’ favor and ensured that they suffered their second defeat of the season.
Despite the loss, Bath Gladiators Jack Dryden who scored 2 tries before retiring from the game injured saw a lot of positives “Everything seemed to go against us on Saturday, starting with the traffic resulting in us arriving late to Oxford.We also had a number of late call ups and a depleted squad due to injuries. Despite this, the lads dug in really well and we scored some great tries and showed some really good attacking play. The lack of subs due to our injuries didn’t help during the game. The result is a tough pill to swallow especially with it being the second week in a row we have lost by such a small margin, however, the commitment shown yesterday shows we have what it takes to push on and contend for the league.”