Somerset in Pictures: Swans, horse racing and Team Bath
Racing returned to Somerset this week, while the end of the Easter weekend brought some sunshine.Elsewhere, one of the oldest family-owned department stores in the country celebrated its 250th anniversary.Here is our selection of pictures from across the county this week.
Over hurdles: Brendan Powell rode American Land to victory during the Ron Hatton Memorial Handicap Hurdle at Taunton Racecourse on Wednesday.
Beach day: People flocked to the beach at Weston-super-Mare over the Easter bank holiday weekend.
Historic shop: Former staff at one of the oldest family-owned department stores in the country gathered for a special event to mark its 250th anniversary. Hatchers can trace its history back to a drapery shop that was first set up in 1775 and it still employs more than 40 people in Taunton. Former employee Alison Winchester was among the guests.
Cows and clouds: This highland cow was captured by weather watcher Nutkin on a cloudy day this week.
Easter win: Team Bath Netball began the second half of the inaugural NXT Gen League season on a winning note as they recorded a 59-44 victory over Severn rivals Cardiff Dragons on Easter Saturday.
Sunny spells: We've had some mixed weather this week but the sun came out intermittently, making for beautiful photos such as this one of Glastonbury Tor.
Oldest player: A former Bath Rugby player has been presented with a legacy cap 74 years after first joining the club. Stan Francis, now 100 years old and thought to be Bath Rugby's oldest living player, made his debut for the club in 1951.
Spring chicks: There was great excitement at The Bishop's Palace and Gardens in Wells as this year's cygnets hatched in the nest of the Palace's much-loved swans, Grace and Gabriel. The moment of hatching was confirmed by Moira Anderson, known locally as the Palace's "Swan Whisperer."
Competing nationally: Maisie Elliott of Bath University competed in the Women's 100m Butterfly heat during day five of the British Swimming Championships.
Medical advancement: Stroke care and research colleagues at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust have teamed up to test a new nerve stimulation therapy, in bid to improve hand and arm weakness in stroke survivors. The new stroke treatment delivers electrical pulses to a patient's brain via a portable, pacemaker-like device.
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Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
This Bath side can rule English rugby for a dynasty, writes DAN BIGGAR... winning the Premiership final would be a fitting end to a stunning season
There is no doubt Bath have been the best team in the Gallagher Premiership this season, but their performance to reach the final saw them go up another notch. I thought Johann van Graan's side were exceptional against Bristol on Friday night, the way they played rubberstamping their tag as champions-elect. This Bath side have everything. They will be strong favourites in Saturday's final against Leicester. Of course, anything can happen in a one-off game. You saw that in the 2024 final, when Bath prop Beno Obano was sent off. Even with 14 men, his team were only just beaten by Northampton, so you could make a good argument to say the result would have been different if he'd stayed on. So long as Bath don't go a player down this time, I think they'll win. The reason I say that is because they have the ability to play several different ways. They have an all-round game that no one else in England can match. Bristol really worried them with their attack in the first half, but the way Bath responded in the third quarter to score 28 unanswered points was exceptional. The semi-final at the Rec was a brilliant advert for the Premiership, a proper old-school derby with everything on the line played in front of a brilliant and hostile crowd. At a time when there is talk of a new breakaway league in rugby, it was a reminder of how good the English club game can be. Any side in the world would have been caused problems by some of the rugby Bristol played in the first 40 minutes. But what I liked about Bath was there was no panic. Bristol should have been further clear at the break and I think they had some tough calls go against them. What Bath were so good at in the third quarter was playing structured rugby. Yes, they still moved the ball. But they were in control after Bristol sucked them into a game of sevens in the first half. Bath have pace as well as power. They can turn the screw in different ways and their bench impact is huge. A lot of their calmness is driven by Van Graan, who is a very impressive character. Cynics might belittle his input and say Bath have spent the most money on their squad, so should be winning. That is not the case at all. Van Graan is a top-quality coach. Bath won't want to lose him and I'm sure owner Bruce Craig will tie him down to an even longer contract if Bath win the Premiership. But he looks an international coach in waiting. Yes, he has a very strong team. But he has not only put that together since joining in 2022, he also totally aligned the club on and off the field. In my time in the Premiership with Northampton, Bath were a sleeping giant - a big club in name and stature but one not delivering on the field. Now, they are. You don't always get what you deserve but if there's any justice, Bath will win the final They can win matches with brilliant attack. If you want to take them on in a dogfight, they can do that, too. Their defence is exceptional. It must be brilliant to be a part of their team right now, knowing that whatever the opposition brings, you have the tools to deal with it. I don't think I ever had that in my career and I was fortunate to play in some very good teams for both club and country. You don't always get what you deserve in professional sport. But if there is any justice in the world, it will be Bath who win the final on Saturday. Yes, Leicester will do everything they can to upset the applecart and they will undoubtedly cause Van Graan's men problems. But if all goes to plan for Bath, it is their fans who will be celebrating what would be an historic treble. That would be a fitting way for their club to finish an amazing season. It could be the start of a dynasty of them dominating English rugby for many years to come, like Saracens have done in the past. They are that good.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- The Guardian
Inspired Perese try edges Leicester past Sale and into Premiership final
And so it is the two grand old clubs of English rugby. Leicester will face off against Bath at Twickenham next Saturday – and the rest of us will have to check which century we are in. Leicester, admittedly, have featured far more among the honours this millennium, which is to say at all, than their arch rivals from the West Country, who so dominated the 1980s and 1990s. But neither team, if you asked their hoariest old warriors, could pick a foe they would rather lock horns with on a no-doubt sunny afternoon at HQ. This was a darker and more swirling affair at Welford Road. The Tigers seemed to have Sale in their pockets for half the match, but the visitors rallied midway through the second to level the scores with only 15 to play. Their tails seemed up. Then came a flash of brilliance – not the first of the afternoon by any means – and all that darkness was pierced by a try fit to win a semi-final. The final minutes played out to Leicester's beefiest squeezing out Manchester's, as English rugby's largest support bellowed them on. So familiar. Neither of these two are known for their lightness of touch. Nor did they flourish any of it for much of the match, but let it be noted that the decisive breakthroughs owed everything to brilliance. Welford Road bade farewell to some of Leicester's greatest servants, Dan Cole, Ben Youngs and captain Julián Montoya playing their last matches at the old place, but it was the newbies who won the match. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion Adam Radwan's two first half tries, his 10th and 11th in 10 matches, since his arrival midseason from Newcastle, were taken with stunning audacity, to earn Leicester a 10-point lead at the break. Then, come the hour, or at least the 68th minute, Izaia Perese, the Wallaby whose season has been so disrupted by injury, broke the newly imposed deadlock by bursting on to a pass from 40 metres out and skinning the Sale defence to seize the keys to Twickenham. Sale, whose lightness tends to be supplied by George Ford, a previous champion with Leicester, had worked their way back into the match with a pair of penalties by the old maestro, either side of a try by Rob du Preez, put over by sweet interplay between the Curry twins and Ford again. Du Preez has played every single minute of Sale's Premiership campaign. How worthy a finalist he would have proven, but almost as soon as Ford's third penalty of the match had levelled the scores at 16-16, Perese relit the fires of Welford Road. Sale pressed in the final knockings, having survived another siege, as the minutes ticked away. Luke Cowan-Dickie charged down the left touchline, but he spilled the ball in a tackle by Freddie Steward with the clock deep in the red. Leicester, fans and players alike, went beserk, but there was one last twist of drama to be endured. Steward's head had collided with Cowan-Dickie's in the tackle that dislodged the ball. One last séance by TMO was required. It was decided that Steward, who was virtually prone on the floor when the tackle was made, could not conceivably have gone any lower. His arms were up in an attempt to make the tackle. But not as up as everybody else's after referee Matt Carley waved his to confirm once and for all the end of the match. Some heroes of yore had the send-off they craved. But there is one last battle to come.
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Russell should overcome 'cramp' for final
Bath fly-half Finn Russell should be fit for the Premiership final next Saturday after leaving the field with cramp near the end of their semi-final win against Bristol. The Scotland and British and Irish Lions number 10 went off limping in the final five minutes at The Rec after kicking 14 points in their 34-20 head of rugby Johann van Graan said he had no reason to believe Russell would not be able to play when they take on either Leicester or Sale for the title at Twickenham in a week's time. "He's in a bit of pain, he's got multiple parts of his body cramping – it's only cramp at this stage," said Van Graan."He put in some effort. I thought his goal kicking was phenomenal, the chases that he put in. He'll be fine, but he's still cramping in the changing room as we speak."It was amazing how many guys on both sides went down with cramp. It just showed the effort that both teams put in. We worked incredibly hard to get into this position, to get back to Twickenham." Despite being 13-6 down at half-time against their West Country neighbours, Bath scored four tries during the second half to stretch away from Bristol and reach their second successive Premiership final. A year ago they fell agonisingly short against Northampton, but they will return to London as overwhelming favourites to claim their first league title since 1996 and with a treble up for grabs after also winning the Premiership Rugby Cup and European Challenge Cup this Graan said his side will "love" every minute of the next week as they build-up to the match."A final is once-off," he said. "[I was] speaking to the coaches earlier today (Friday), we had a quiet moment like if you don't come through today that's it, the season's done and you fall short."If you go to the final you know next Saturday afternoon at whatever time, you're either going to win the Premiership or you're going to lose in the final. "That's the reality of sport but it's one more week and we'll absolutely love it because ultimately if you don't love days like today and weeks like next week then get something else to do." Bath took 'motivation' from Bristol As well as being a semi-final, Friday night's match had the added spice of being a derby and the extra feeling of expectation was palpable in the atmosphere from both fans and the players on the pitch. Bristol came into the match with the superior head-to-head record - having won five of their previous six Premiership meetings with Bath - and Van Graan said the commentary during the days before had helped give his side "motivation".Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam had spoken about the money Bath had spent, external compared to the Bears on players, and also about the Recreation Ground ticket prices and lack of roof, external."I thought the people of Bath were amazing tonight," added Van Graan. "I think I reconfirmed a very valuable lesson in my life this week, two ears and one mouth – don't speak too much and do your talking on the pitch, and our team certainly did our talking on the pitch. And they did it for the city. "We certainly got a lot of motivation from Bristol and it's amazing the more people give the more we got."
