Runaway Zurich Premiership leaders Bath took revenge for their only defeat
this season by subduing Newcastle on a glue-pot pitch at the Recreation Ground.
Again, it was the boot of Olly Barkley that secured their 11th win in 12 games
with five penalties in addition to a try from flanker Andy Beattie, driven over
by his fellow forward in the 70th minute.
Having four players in the Twickenham jamboree clearly did not improve the
Falcons' chances of completing the double.
More serious, however, was the absence through injury of Jonny Wilkinson.
The man with the kicking duties was Dave Walder, who had a miserable day with
the boot landing just two out of six place-kicks.
Bath have targeted their three holiday games - they travel to Saracens and
Rotherham over the next fortnight - as must-wins so that when they face Wasps at
the Rec on February 7 they have an opportunity to open up a virtually
unbridgeable gap at the top of the table.
Conditions at Bath were very much against anything but a kicking game but even
that was made incredibly difficult in a squally wind.
Barkley was given his first penalty opportunity after just six minutes when
the visitors were penalised for handling in a ruck. The fly-half found the
target again from 42 metres in the 13th minute, making light of the
unpredictable wind, while Walder missed three kicks in the first 20 minutes, one
glancing a post.
Bath had the upper hand in the scrums but aggressive Newcastle tackling kept
them at bay and prevented the leaders from establishing a foothold in the 22.
However, Newcastle were still prone to give away penalties in the loose play
and Barkley hammered over a third penalty on 24 minutes from all of 45 metres.
Walder had a chance to pull back three points on the stroke of half-time but
hooked the kick badly into the hospitality boxes.
He was finally on target two minutes after the restart but Barkley replied
almost immediately after South African wing Wylie Human and veteran hooker
Jonathan Humphreys combined down the left in one of the few dangerous handling
moves.
The second half degenerated into a litany of errors and poorly-directed kicks
before Bath finally managed to rumble over from a line-out, with Beattie being
credited with the touchdown.
Newcastle thought they had earned themselves a losing bonus point when flanker
Phil Dowson forced his way over from a tapped penalty for a try converted by
Walder but even that consolation was dashed by Barkley's fifth penalty in
injury-time.
Teams:
Bath: Perry, Human, Crockett, Maggs, A. Higgins, Barkley,
Martens, Flatman, Humphreys, Bell, Borthwick, Fidler, Beattie,
Lipman, Fea'unati.
Replacements: Kydd for Perry (79), Danielli for Human (75),
Barnes for Flatman (74), Mears for Humphreys (56),
Scaysbrook for Lipman (62), Gray for Fea'unati (74).
Not Used: Blake.
Tries: Beattie.
Pens: Barkley 5.
Newcastle: J. Shaw, May, Noon, Mayerhofler, Stephenson, Walder,
Grindal, Peel, Thompson, Ward, Grimes, Andrews, Dunbar, Dowson,
Britz.
Replacements: Makin for Thompson (51), Archer for Andrews (51).
Not Used: Wilson, Parling, Godman, S. Richardson, M. Wilkinson.
Tries: Dowson.
Cons: Walder
Pens: Walder.
Att: 9,980
Ref: Ashley Rowden (RFU).
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