“In loads of parts of our game we are playing pretty well, but the frustration is we need to score the tries when we are over the line.”

Bath Rugby fell to a second straight league defeat and a third straight overall loss after losing to Gloucester in the PREM for the first time since 2022.

The win looked unlikely when Bath exercised total domination for most of the first half, but somehow Gloucester survived being down to 13 at one stage, and to 14 on multiple occassions.

For Bath, it was a disappointing night as their struggles continued and dating back to last season it is nine defeats in 13 games, and again they failed to score in a second half, as well as losing both Santi Carreras and Guy Pepper to injuries.

However, despite their 23-5 loss, Bath’s Head of Rugby Johann van Graan is not too concerned as he felt that the majority of the game was there, but just lacked a clinical nature to get the points and tries they deserved.

“I am pretty calm,” van Graan said. “In loads of parts of our game we are playing pretty well, but the frustration is we need to score the tries when we are over the line.”

Bath’s Head of Rugby continued to lament Bath’s lack of execution in the red zone, which has arguably cost them in back-to-back weeks.

“I think the theme of the last two weeks is missed opportunities,” van Graan said. “In the first half we were over the try line five times but scored just once. So you can't apply pressure if you don't finish opportunities."

Bath were dominant at times against Gloucester, but despite playing against 13 men for parts of the first half, they scored just five points, with the try coming on the stroke of half-time when Gloucester had their full complement on the pitch.

“I think we did pretty well today, but we need to finish our opportunities better so we can apply some pressure,” van Graan said.

After going into half-time trailing 9-5, Bath looked to have found a big response, but once again they failed to score.

“I think a big moment is just after half-time," van Graan added. "The score is 9-5, we get the poach penalty, and we go for a maul, but the try is not awarded. Again, we had the ball over the line quite a few times; we just need to make sure that we score the try."

Despite Bath’s recent losses, van Graan remained pretty relaxed. “There is a long way to go in the PREM; we have played three away games and just one at home.”

“We will take it week by week, starting with Sale Sharks next Saturday before the Autumn break. So from our side it is about sticking to process and finishing our try-scoring opportunities.”

However, van Graan is concerned about the injury to Santi Carreras, who limped off with a non-contact leg injury.

“Santi will go for a scan, but I’d be amazed if that wasn’t really bad news for him, but I’m not a medical expert, so we shall see," he said.

“When a player goes down like that in a non-contact injury, it’s never good. The fear is that it’s an ACL injury."

Bath also lost Guy Pepper to injury, with both internationals most likely to miss next week’s game against Sale, if not more.

Bath’s mantra under van Graan has been ‘never too high, never too low’, and he will be hoping his side can return to winning ways when they host Sale Sharks at The Rec next Saturday, before the Autumn break.