Bath will go into Saturday’s Prem semi-final against Exeter without Finn Russell, who has been ruled out with the calf injury that kept him out of the past two games. Santiago Carreras comes in at fly-half for the home knockout tie, giving Bath a different face in the one shirt that usually shapes everything they do.
The timing matters because Bath are chasing a third consecutive Prem final under Johann van Graan, and the change comes at the sharp end of the season, not during a routine league week. Carreras will make his fourth start at 10 for Bath, while the back line stays unchanged and Tom Dunn returns to the starting side after serving the fallout from his red card against Newcastle Red Bulls.
Bath spent every week of the past three seasons inside the play-off places, and van Graan said after the win over Leicester that Russell was in a “great place”. The reality is harsher now. The fly-half remains absent, and Bath have had to build their semi-final around a player they have only used in the role three times before.
That leaves the home side with a small but telling reshuffle. Quinn Roux comes into the second row, Kepu Tuipulotu and Ted Hill drop to the bench, and Benhard van der Linde is added to the matchday 23. Bath’s selection keeps faith in the attacking shape around Carreras, but it also asks whether he can manage a knockout game of this size with the same control Russell usually brings.
Exeter make only one change from the side that beat Saracens 32-12 last week. Greg Fisilau returns at number eight after recovering from a facial injury, while Ethan Roots is still working through his return-to-play protocols after last week’s head knock. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso remains unavailable and is likely to miss the rest of the domestic season after surgery on a facial injury, but Paul Brown-Bampoe and Campbell Ridl keep their places on the wing, Olly Woodburn stays at full-back and Len Ikitau continues alongside Henry Slade.
Bath’s status as defending champions only adds to the pressure on a side that finished second in the table, while Exeter arrive having secured third place and a place in the last four. The game on Saturday is therefore more than a semi-final with a different fly-half. It is Bath’s first major test without Russell in the run to another final, and whether Carreras can cover well enough may decide whether van Graan’s team get the chance to defend their crown again.
