Bath could call on teenager Mears for semi-final

Bath could give 18-year-old prospect Isaac Mears his first-team debut in Sunday's Champions Cup semi-final away to Bordeaux-Begles after a sudden spate of injuries hit their scrum-half stocks.

First-choice nine Ben Spencer was initially named in Bath's side to face Harlequins on 18 April, but withdrew before kick-off with a shoulder complaint.

Despite Johann van Graan's initial optimism that the England international's injury was a minor problem, Spencer is only "touch and go" for the club's first elite European semi-final in 20 years.

Back-up scrum-half Bernard van der Linde has had surgery on his ankle after being forced off 10 minutes into his first Prem start against Northampton on Saturday, leaving Tom Carr-Smith as the only fit senior specialist in the position.

Mears, the son of former Bath, England and British and Irish Lions hooker Lee, only signed his first professional contract earlier this month and his most-recent appearance was for the University of Bath's all-conquering student side., external

Van Graan has hinted that, while he has promoted Mears into the senior set-up, he is also considering a leftfield positional switch as another means of covering scrum-half.

The 46-year-old South African alluded to the Springboks' victory in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final, where their gamble of a 'seven-one' bench with no direct replacement for Faf de Klerk paid off in a 12-11 victory.

"One bit that the group knows, but the outside world doesn't, is we go through multiple situational plays in training sessions throughout the year," he said.

"In a worst-case scenario, you might see somebody play at nine that's never played at nine.

"But if you go back to the World Cup final back in 2023, one team decided to go without a nine, so there's many different things that we could do.

"We've got faith that Spenny [Spencer] will be fine on the weekend and whether he or any other player is not, we'll be fluid and adaptable.

"There's always two choices you can make with injuries – you can feel sorry for yourself or you can make a plan. And this group is exceptional at making plans."

Van Graan is managing injury doubts elsewhere in his backline with wing Joe Cokanasiga nursing a leg problem, while centres Max Ojomoh (knee) and Cameron Redpath are also not yet at full fitness.

Bath intend to make a final call on their line-up after training on Friday to give their first-choice stars the maximum possible time to recover.

Bordeaux-Begles are the defending champions in the competition, but have endured an indifferent Top 14 campaign so far, suffering their 10th defeat of their domestic campaign at home to Montpellier last weekend.