Barbeary shows class as Bath score nine tries to race into Champions Cup last 16
Scotland’s fly-half Finn Russell had spoken about his desire to claim the pre-Six Nations bragging rights at the expense of several good mates in the Edinburgh squad,There was never the slightest doubt his wish would be granted as Bath eased to a comprehensive nine-try victory that guarantees pool winner status plus a home draw in the last 16 and, potentially, beyond,On this occasion Russell also had the luxury of an armchair ride behind a Bath pack who took an early grip on the contest and never let go,Even if Edinburgh had turned up in north-east Somerset with their best side, as opposed to resting a few senior men, they would have been hard pressed to put too many dents in the black-shirted tanks and electric sprinters parked up opposite,There will be sterner tests ahead against stronger opposition but, first and foremost, there was no disputing the unflinching mood of Bath’s tight forwards or their forceful No 8 Alfie Barbeary.
All three of the hosts’ starting front row registered tries from a collective range of about four metres and a close-quarters penalty try also summed up their hard-nosed modus operandi in the first half.Those who had paid to watch Russell run through his extensive range of tricks mostly had to wait until the final quarter for Bath to cut loose and allow their quality backs like Max Ojomoh and Henry Arundell to show their class.Bath’s head coach Johann van Graan is not a fan of the theory that his side have been playing less flowing and ambitious rugby since their former attack coach Lee Blackett left to join England at the start of the season.As long as his side keep winning it is not a significant problem and this was another of those nights when Bath’s forward power was unanswerable.Two tries within four minutes in the first quarter set the heavy metal tone, Thomas du Toit nabbing the first following a tapped penalty before a penalty try robbed Barbeary of the individual glory he thought he had claimed moments earlier.
The No 8 looks fitter and more purposeful this season, both of which will be prerequisites if he is to give the England management a successful nudge,Edinburgh were game but, aside from an early penalty from Ross Thompson, they were not frequent visitors to the Bath 22,It did not help when their Scottish international hooker Ewan Ashman departed injured inside the first half hour, robbing them of a gnarled campaigner with plenty of experience of playing in England,To nobody’s surprise it was the signal for Bath to start turning the screw,From another good close-range position there was no stopping Beno Obano from crashing over and, at 21-3, it was already case of damage limitation for the visitors.
Who needs to attack endlessly out wide when the gate through the middle is proving so effective?That said, a balanced game will be required when the bigger knockout games come around.Bath, from that perspective, really should have had a fourth try when Ojomoh opted to go it alone rather than using Ben Spencer on his outside and were soon cursing their profligacy.A snaking break from the athletic Harry Paterson put Ben Vellacott into space at the other end and a smart angled line from Piers O’Conor earned Edinburgh a lovely try.It was just a temporary blip as Bath swiftly restored order in now familiar fashion.The visitors did their collective best to repel the onrushing waves on their own try-line but there was an inevitability to the eventual score by Tom Dunn, clearly keen to join his fellow front-rowers on to the scoresheet.
The only question was whether Bath might look to widen their focus slightly more in the second half.They clearly have the players to do so and England’s coaches will have enjoyed the sight of Ojomoh throwing a sweet left-to-right pass out to Joe Cokanasiga, who spun out of the tackle for a cracking score.Cokanasiga, who finished with a brace of tries, also set up Bath’s sixth try, thundering through the middle before sending his skipper Spencer over untouched.The rest was a blur of one-way traffic by a home side who have the artillery to go much further this season if their key men can stay fit.
BP accused of ‘insidious’ influence on UK education through Science Museum links
Campaigners have accused BP of having an insidious influence over the teaching of science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) in the UK through its relationship with the Science Museum.Documents obtained under freedom of information legislation show how the company funded a research project that led to the creation of the Science Museum Group academy – its teacher and educator training programme – which BP sponsors and which has run more than 500 courses, for more than 5,000 teachers.Campaigners say the documents reveal the extent of control the company had over the research project, called Enterprising Science. The contract setting out the collaboration states that major decisions would not be “validly passed … unless the representative of BP votes in its favour”.Chris Garrard of the campaign group Culture Unstained said: “BP’s toxic influence over young people’s learning is calculated and insidious
South East Water boss lasting weeks in post would be a surprise | Nils Pratley
Can David Hinton, the chief executive of South East Water, stay in his job long enough to bag a £400,000 bonus for turning up to work? With four and a half years to go, one can’t say his chances of landing the retention payment – or “service award” – are good. In fact, it will be surprising if he’s still infuriating the residents of Tunbridge Wells four and a half weeks from now.In the latest episode of this long-running double saga of outages that has left thousands of households in Kent and Sussex without running water for days, Ofwat has opened a first-of-its-kind investigation into whether South East complied with its obligation to provide “high standards of customer service and support”. That comes a day after Emma Reynolds, the environment secretary, called for the regulator to review the company’s operating licence.Meanwhile, even the company’s shareholders, who normally shun the spotlight on these occasions, are spluttering into their bottled water
UK economy beats forecasts with 0.3% growth in November; Ofwat investigating South East Water over outages – as it happened
Newsflash: The UK economy has returned to growth, and more vigorously than expected.UK GDP expanded by 0.3% in November, new data from the Office for National Statistics shows, after shrinking a little in October.That’s faster than expected; City economists had expected growth of just 0.1%In another boost, September’s growth figures have been revised higher, showing that the economy didn’t shrink that month after all
South East Water boss in line for £400,000 bonus despite outages
The boss of the company that has left thousands of households in south-east England without water for days is in line for a £400,000 long-term bonus regardless of his performance, if he resists calls for him to resign over the outages.David Hinton, the chief executive of South East Water, is to receive the payout if he stays on until July 2030.Hinton is facing calls to give up his right to the previously unreported “service award”. The payment, which was disclosed in the company’s annual report, is not performance-related, meaning that as long as he remains, Hinton will receive it whatever the company’s record on water supplies or pollution.South East Water has faced immense pressure after 30,000 households in Kent and East and West Sussex endured days of water supply failures in November and again in January
New York bakery staff push for union, claiming they were forced to bake for Israeli fundraisers
Workers at popular New York City bakery chain Breads Bakery announced a move to unionize, claiming it has “underpaid, undervalued, disrespected, discriminated against, intimidated and hurt” staff, as well as supported “the genocide happening in Palestine”.The company, which has ties to Israel, expressed concern that “divisive political issues” had been introduced into its stores. “We make babka; we don’t engage in politics,” a spokesperson said.But staff involved in the unionization drive claimed that employees were forced by the chain to create products for fundraisers for Israeli organizations, and unable to decline.The union, Breaking Breads, claims that more than 30% of the chain’s 275 workers across New York City had signed union authorization cards, seeking to unionize with United Auto Workers Local 2179 and pushing for better pay, improvements to working conditions such as the replacement of broken equipment, and respect on the job
Growth figures give boost to Reeves – but it’s too early to get carried away
At the end of last year, Rachel Reeves was under fire for the impact of budget speculation on Britain’s economy. All of the noise about fiscal holes, tax increases and spending cuts before her late November budget was having a real-world effect on the spending decisions of households and businesses.The latest official figures will therefore come as a boost for the chancellor. Britain’s economy grew more strongly than expected in November, up 0.3%, despite the fog of uncertainty in the lead up to her critical tax and spending speech at the end of the month
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