Bath Burns Newcastle, as they make it 3 out of 3

The Anglo-Welsh trophy returned to the Rec on Saturday afternoon and the home side were looking to continue their good form in the cup and make it three wins out of win against an in-form Newcastle side who had beaten Bath earlier on in the season. 

 

In a much changed fifteen Bath made a composed start and were matched by a rugged Newcastle team who weren’t budging and in a pointless first half the away team looked the more likely to score the first points of the afternoon as they continued to attack, wave after attack but was met with some stubborn resistance from the Bath pack which will have pleased Todd Blackadder.

 

What the first half lacked in action the second didn’t. Bath took to the field and in the form of his life Paul Grant grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck as he grabbed the ball from the bottom of the ruck and bulldozed his way over the line as the Falcons defense creaked. The second try was pure brilliance from Bath, and some of the finest off offloading you will see from youngster Darren Atkins to veteran Matt Banahan allowing replacement hooker Nathan Charles to canter over following a great supporting run to take the score to 14-3.

 

However, Newcastle continued to fight and were rewarded when the forwards got a turnover in the scrum, allowing winger Adam Radwan to race down the left touchline and pass inside to Craig Willis who disappointed and brought the game back to within one score. A delightful switch kick from fly half from Freddie Burns found Jack Wilson to touch down and give Bath a little bit of comfort heading into the last few minutes. 

 

The only downside of the match was that Bath couldn’t grab another try to get a bonus point but they are in a good position going into the last round of fixtures against Welsh side Ospreys, knowing a victory should be enough to secure a semi final spot.