Bath slammed the door on Harlequins' hopes of qualifying through the Powergen
Cup for next season's Heineken Cup.
In a messy game, played in front of just over 6,000 at the Recreation Ground,
Bath eased away in the last quarter and were thankful for another 100% kicking
display from Olly Barkley.
Bath's much publicised injury problems meant a debut at full-back for
19-year-old Ryan Davis, the fifth member of Colston's School's allconquering
first team of last season to already be playing first-class rugby.
His nerves were settled by some early touches of the ball but the first
scoring opportunity fell to Quins' Jeremy Staunton in the 10th minute, a penalty
from 50 metres. The Irish fly-half had the length but not the accuracy.
Bath's line out - often described by Quins director of rugby Mark Evans as a
"Rolls Royce outfit" - struggled badly in the early stages.
With referee Nigel Owen constantly with the whistle at his lips, it was poor
fare.
Bath's fly-half Chris Malone had already had a kick half charged down when he
gifted Harlequins seven points, this time with a straightforward handling
error.
The ball, from an 18th-minute lineout on the Bath 22, was clean and swift, but
Staunton read Malone's pass beautifully to intercept and cruise under the posts
before converting his own try.
Bath went straight up to the other end, pressing hard for a try of their own,
but eventually turned over possession and also saw a Malone drop-goal attempt go
wide.
It was 33 minutes before Barkley kicked his side's first point, a 25-metre
penalty given against scrum-half Steve So'oialo for foul play.
That seemed to do the trick and Bath found themselves 10-7 ahead barely a
minute later.
It was an inspirational moment from Barkley which did the trick, switching
play with an astute cross kick which evaded full-back Tom Williams, who hardly
saw the Bath wing Andrew Higgins come from nowhere to beat him to the
touchdown.
Barkley, faultless throughout, converted from the touchline.
The second half continued to degenerate into a succession of dropped passes
and wrong options, but Barkley continued to rack up the points, landing
penalties after 54 and 65 minutes, the latter resulting from another incident
which saw So'oialo sent to the sin bin.
Barkley made it 19-7 with his fourth penalty after 71 minutes. But Bath were
really looking for tries at this stage.
Eventually, hooker Lee Mears sped in from 25 metres as Quins ran out of steam
and young centre Tom Cheeseman, making his debut from the replacements bench,
finished off a 70-metre move after Brendon Daniel drew the defence.
Teams:
Bath: Davis, Higgins, Welsh, Barkley, Daniel, Malone, Baxter,
Stevens, Humphreys, Bell, Borthwick, Fidler, Scaysbrook,
Lipman, Fea'unati.
Replacements: Best for Davis (72), Cheeseman for Higgins (72),
Alford for Baxter (78), Barnes for Stevens (68),
Mears for Humphreys (33), Grewcock for Fidler (55),
Lewis for Lipman (78).
Tries: Higgins, Mears, Cheeseman.
Cons: Barkley 3.
Pens: Barkley 4.
Harlequins: Williams, James, Greenwood, Deane, Keogh, Staunton,
So'oialo, Worsley, Fuga, Jones, Winters, Maling, Easter, Vos,
Diprose.
Replacements: Duffy for Greenwood (62),
Jarvis for Staunton (57), Dawson for Worsley (68),
Tiatia for Fuga (49).
Not Used: Fitzgerald, Miall, Sherriff.
Tries: Staunton.
Cons: Staunton.
Att: 6,343
Ref: Nigel Owen (WRFU).
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