BATH RUGBY 22

 

NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 17

 

Guinness Premiership Round 18

 

Recreation Ground

 

Saturday, March 10, 2007

 

Saints opened brightly and with a move involving the midfield were threatening inside Bath’s 22. However the ball was lost at the breakdown, Chris Malone cleared – albeit poorly – but the chase makes a kick and the following Bath players forced Bruce Reihana to concede a scrum.

 

It set the tone for the remainder of the first half.

 

Bath were dominant and rarely left their own territory. But the home fans became increasingly frustrated by their team’s inability to put chances away. Danny Grewcock knocked on in midfield on Saints’ 22, then after a nice off-load by Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu was ruined by a knock-on at the breakdown.

 

But Mark Robinson conceded a free kick at the scrum, the Saints infringed by their posts and Olly Barkley kicked a simple three-pointer. Malone missed a 50-metre drop-goal immediately after but Bath were on the front foot and soon had another penalty 40 metres out.

Barkley slotted this for a six-point lead but there was worse to come for the visitors before the first quarter was out. Though they were lucky when Carlos Spencer nearly intercepted Malone’s pass to Nick Abendanon and Barkley missed a three-man overlap the fortune ran out in the 19th minute.

 

Christian Labit’s yellow card for killing the ball was followed a minute later by Grewcock’s try in the left corner. Barkley missed the conversion but the Saints’ backs were firmly against the wall.

 

Not even Labit’s return could spur the Saints and Bath’s simple running should soon have been rewarded by David Bory. Fuimaono-Sapolu again did the damage and Bory came within inches of the try line before dropping the ball in the tackle.

 

The half-time whistle could not come soon enough at this point but there were still seven minutes to go. Malone’s second missed drop-goal attempt handed Saints a respite but even though Ben Cohen won the 22-metre drop-out the pass inside to Robbie Kydd went to ground. Bath didn’t waste the opportunity and though Reihana did brilliantly to pull Nick Abendanon down during a mazy run the home full-back touched down a minute later.

 

Barkley again missed the conversion leaving the score at 16-0 but it could have been more following another dropped ball in the Saints midfield – this time from Matthieu Bourret. As it was Bath conceded a penalty and the final chance of the half was gone.

 

The second half started with Bath still on the front foot, thanks to Joe Maddock’s good catch of a Nick Walshe box chip. Nevertheless Bourret kicked Saints’ first points with a 45th-minute penalty, Barkley replied in the 50th minute and the margin remained the same.

 

Saints’ first real move of note of the match came 10 minutes into the second half. It ended with Paul Tupai diving over in the left corner. Unfortunately Kydd’s pass to him was forward and the try was disallowed.

 

Bath would also had a try in the third quarter had Abendanon’s pass to Grewcock not sailed into touch. But Barkley’s fourth penalty a minute past the hour mark extended Saints’ deficit to 19 and the match looked out of reach.

 

Saints did cross the line again in the 65th minute but the ball was held up in a driving maul. Bath held out the initial five-metre scrums and the subsequent backline move. But the defence was breached eventually by Mark Robinson, who stretched over by the sticks. Bourret added the extras and there was a glimmer of hope at 22-10 with 12 minutes to go.

 

The glimmer became a flicker with four minutes to go when Kydd rounded off a lovely move involving Spencer and Seamus Mallon. Bourret’s conversion brought the deficit back to five but there wasn’t enough time to work the ball upfield and win the game.

 

Teams:
Bath Rugby – Abendanon; Maddock, Fuimaono-Sapolu, Barkley, Bory; Malone, Walshe (Williams 72mins); Barnes, Dixon (Hawkins 69mins), Stevens, Short, Grewcock (Louw 69mins), Beattie, Lipman (Scaybrook 69mins), Feaunati (capt).

 

Northampton Saints – Reihana (capt); Bourret, Mallon, Kydd, Cohen; Spencer, Robinson; Smith, Hartley (Cortese 72mins), Brooks (Tonga’uhia 61mins), Browne (Lord 61mins), Short, Tupai, Fox, Labit.

 

Scorers:
Bath Rugby – Tries: Grewcock, Abendanon; Pens: Barkley (4).

 

Northampton Saints – Tries: Robinson, Kydd; Cons: Bourret (2); Pen: Bourret.

 

Yellow card:
Labit (19mins)

 

Attendance:
10,600

 

TIMELINE:
11mins BATH Pen Barkley 3-0
15mins BATH Pen Barkley 6-0
19mins SAINTS Yellow card Labit
20mins BATH Try Grewcock 11-0
36mins BATH Try Abendanon 16-0
HALF-TIME BATH 16 SAINTS 0
45mins SAINTS Pen Bourret 16-3
50mins BATH Pen Barkley 19-3
61mins BATH Pen Barkley 22-3
68mins SAINTS Try Robinson Con Bourret 22-10
76mins SAINTS Try Kydd Con Bourret 22-17
FULL-TIME BATH 22 SAINTS 17