Bath thrash Gloucester for place in Cup semi-final
Alfie Barbeary's two tries either side of the break pushed Bath firmly clear [Getty Images]
European Challenge Cup quarter-final
Bath (33) 61
Tries: De Glanville, Dunn, Griffin, Spencer, Barbeary 2, Coetzee, Hill, Carr-Smith Cons: Russell 8
Gloucester (19) 26
Tries: Carreras, Singleton, Morris, Ludlow Cons: Carreras 3
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Bath charged past Gloucester into the European Challenge Cup semi-finals, surpassing 60 points in another dominant display at the Recreation Ground.
The hosts scored five tries to Gloucester's three in an end-to-end first-half, with Tom de Glanville and Ben Spencer among Bath's scorers.
But Alfie Barbeary's tries either side of the break pushed Bath 21 points clear and Jaco Coetzee and Ted Hill added further scores as the hosts stifled their West Country neighbours.
The Premiership leaders will now face Edinburgh away in three weeks' time for a place in the final and remain firmly in the fight for another trophy this season.
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When these two sides met in the Premiership three weeks ago, eight tries were traded in the first-half and it was a similarly high-scoring affair on this occasion.
Bath started rapidly as full-back Ciaran Donoghue ghosted through midfield and after Will Muir came within inches of the line, the ball was recycled back for De Glanville to stretch over.
Gloucester retaliated as Santiago Carreras touched down a lovely cross-field kick from Gareth Anscombe - who was making his first Gloucester appearance since before the Six Nations due to injury.
Tom Dunn surged over from a driving maul to restore the hosts' lead and Russell's neat pass then saw Ross Molony through a gap, before Archie Griffin finished under the posts for a third to make it 19-7.
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Gloucester stayed in sight as Jack Singleton charged through a tackle and over, and the visitors had Bath under pressure when flanker Ted Hill was shown yellow for failing to roll away from a maul.
But it was Bath who capitalised as Muir gathered a high ball and chased his own kick before passing back inside to Ethan Staddon who fed Spencer to score.
Gloucester narrowed the gap again as their backs stretched Bath down the right, then whipped the ball left with Jake Morris on the overlap running over.
Yet Bath went in with their tails up as Barbeary kicked through and dived on a loose ball before it went dead for a fifth.
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After conceding his side were overpowered by Bath's replacements in their previous meeting, Cherry and Whites boss George Skivington made six changes immediately after the break - tellingly with five to his forwards - but it could not stem Bath's tide.
Barbeary bulldozed through multiple tacklers and over to strike a crushing blow before replacement Jaco Coetzee added a seventh, and Hill then got the eighth, from close range.
Lewis Ludlow pulled one back for Gloucester to ensure they put some points on the board in the second half but the last word still went to Bath, who piled forward until the end and Tom Carr-Smith ran in a ninth with two minutes left on the clock.
Bath: Donoghue; De Glanville, Redpath, Butt, Muir; Russell, Spencer (c); Obano, Dunn, Griffin; Roux, Molony, Hill, Staddon, Barbeary.
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Replacements: Annett, Van Wyk, Du Toit, Bayliss, Reid, Carr-Smith, Ojomoh, Coetzee.
Sin bin: Hill (27 mins)
Gloucester: Carreras; Wade, Harris (c), Butler, Morris; Anscombe, Englefield; Knight, Singleton, Gotovtsev; Clarke, Jordan, Gwynne, Taylor, Ackermann.
Replacements: Blake, Rapava Ruskin, Fasogbon, Thomas, Ludlow, Clement, Williams, Atkinson.
Referee: Sam Grove-White
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