Jonny Wilkinson enjoyed an armchair ride in front of acting England head coach
Andy Robinson as Newcastle brushed Bath aside at a sold-out Recreation Ground.
Fly-half Wilkinson, favourite to captain England in their November Tests
against Canada, South Africa and Australia, booted 13 points in a comfortable
away victory.
The injury-time sending-off of Newcastle back row forward Phil Dowson could
not disguise a quality Newcastle performance that saw them score four tries and
claim an important bonus point.
By the time Dowson departed, following a punch-up involving both packs,
Newcastle were home and dry as they built on their victory over Premiership new
boys Worcester last weekend.
With Wilkinson in the driving seat, Newcastle blew Bath away inside the
opening 26 minutes as flanker Mike McCarthy, Tom May and his fellow wing Michael
Stephenson all capitalised on sloppy Bath defence.
With Wilkinson kicking two conversions and a penalty during that early
onslaught, Bath still had a mountain to climb despite lock Steve Borthwick
crashing over from close range.
Bath fly-half Chris Malone slotted a penalty before the break, and even though
Newcastle had lock Luke Gross yellow-carded they were in total control
approaching the second period.
Wilkinson landed the first-half of a drop-goal double on 56 minutes to ease
Newcastle's nerves and although that heralded Bath's best spell of the game,
there was no way back for the home side.
Bath wing Brendon Daniel scored two tries during the final quarter, but his
contribution was disrupted by May's second try which made the game safe.
Referee Steve Lander reached for his red card during the closing minutes after
a needless brawl which owed much to Bath's frustration. Dowson was shown a
straight red, and he can now expect a minimum three-week ban, while May was
sin-binned.
Daniel's second try gave a capacity 10,400 crowd - a Bath home record in the
professional era - something to shout about, but typically, it was Wilkinson who
had the final word with his second drop goal just before the final whistle.
Newcastle have opened their Premiership campaign with successive away
victories against Worcester and Bath, registering nine points in the process.
Bath, meanwhile, have yet to break their points duck, which is a far cry from
last season.
Bath finished top at the end of the regular 22-game league season, only to see
their title aspirations disappear when they lost to Wasps at Twickenham in a
championship shoot-out.
Clearly though, they will have to improve their defensive structure because
Newcastle breached them far too easily.
The Falcons can now look forward to a home game against Harlequins next
weekend, having quickly confirmed themselves as serious contenders at the top
end of the table.
And with Wilkinson growing in confidence with every game he plays, the signs
are all so good for Robinson as the countdown continues towards his first
international match in charge following Sir Clive Woodward's resignation.
Teams:
Bath: Maddock, Crockett, Davey, Tindall, Daniel, Malone, Wood,
Barnes, Humphreys, Bell, Borthwick, Grewcock, Beattie, Lipman,
Fea'unati.
Replacements: Mears for Humphreys (55), Stevens for Bell (22),
Scaysbrook for Lipman (55), Delve for Fea'unati (35).
Not Used: Walshe, Fleck, Lewitt.
Tries: Borthwick, Daniel 2.
Pens: Malone.
Newcastle: Shaw, May, Noon, Mayerhofler, Stephenson,
J. Wilkinson, Grindal, Peel, Long, Hurter, Gross, Grimes,
McCarthy, Charvis, Dowson.
Replacements: Burke for Shaw (65), Charlton for Grindal (65),
Ward for Peel (31), Thompson for Long (55),
Hamilton for Gross (61).
Not Used: Sititi, Walder.
Tries: McCarthy, May 2, Stephenson.
Cons: J. Wilkinson 2.
Pens: J. Wilkinson.
Drop Goals: J. Wilkinson 2.
Sent Off: Dowson (80).
Att: 10,400
Ref: S Lander (England).
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