"Heaven... I'm in heaven" so wrote Irving Berlin over seventy years ago and whilst I may not have been skipping on tippy-toes, Cheek To Cheek, with my good lady wife as we made our way back to the car, Berlin's sentiment was definitely running through my mind. 

Asked a few weeks ago how we would get on against the dreaded local enemy, I was confident. However after a couple of difficult games over the last fortnight and watching Bris beat the flowery French last week, my confidence had subsided somewhat.

But what was I thinking about, why was I doubting a victory when Roger Spurrell was on the scene? There are certain laws of physics that one cannot ignore: Newton's various laws of motion, Einstein's E=MC2 and all that and of course RS+REC=win, when Roger Spurrell is at the Rec Bath cannot lose.

What a great move by Simon Halliday to bring back the likes of Spurrell, Tricky, Egerton, de Glanville and Swift to set the scene for this derby match. These blokes are Bath legends and we need a bit of legendary status to remind us of our modern heritage. It's all too easy to forget how great our club once was and we need a reminder to show today's squad what they have to emulate. Halliday spoke eloquently and passionately before the game and gave a sense of occasion which certainly moved this (sometimes cynical) supporter. Thank you Simon it's great to have you back at the club!

Bath controlled the opening plays of the game and secured a penalty after just three minutes to start their scoreboard activity. Barkley's touchline kick was very true but he missed his next opportunity, after the Bristol forwards struggled to keep the scrum upright, just five minutes later.

The crowd went wild after nine minutes when Andrew Higgins scored against his old club. Bath won a lineout on half-way and after the excellent Lipman made ground after several forays into the Bristol defence, Butch James kicked diagonally into the far corner. It appeared from the ensuing ruck that the defence would easily tie up possession and clear the ball however Higgins ripped the ball from the arms of Luke Arscott and trotted in for the score. What a start!

Many of us have wondered what to expect of James and in this match we saw some visionary play that (potentially) sets him apart from the rest. His chips forward, sometime against the grain, confuse defences and often catch out his own comrades but create the sort of space for runners they have previously just dreamt about. Judging by what I've seen so far I have no doubt he will prove very exciting over the rest of the season.

Bath's second try after 19 minutes again involved Michael Lipman and Butch James. The Bath fly-half fed Matt Banahan following another successful lineout and the powerful man-mountain winger charged through the defence before off-loading to Lipman for the score. 17-0 and Bristol had been nowhere near the Bath line.

Bath then appeared to go off the boil for much of the first half and this gave Bristol an opportunity to build some momentum which eventually saw Jason Strange snatch six points through a brace of penalties.

Olly Barkley extended Bath's lead a few moments after the restart with another penalty and they thought they should have scored again when Butch James took a pass from Nick Abendanon, on the edge of the Bristol twenty-two, and flicked it behind his back for a return pass only for referee Wayne Barnes to adjudge the pass forward. The Bath crowd screamed their dissent with this decision but I thought it was marginal and would have questioned the decision if given against Bath. In the blink of an eye a judgment is made, some right, some wrong but, as they say, it all evens itself out in the end.

On their next attack Bath shoved the Bristol scrum backwards against the head, giving themselves a marvellous scoring opportunity, and demonstrated how they dominated the feted Bristol pack all afternoon. So much for Ronnie's chirping putting our boys off their game.

Bristol finally gave themselves a chance of getting something from the match when their snappy little winger, David Lemi, sprinted in for his team's only try of the day. Confusion was then seen on the touchline when Strange was substituted only to be sent back on again. I wonder what the rule is when the documentation is given to the officials, the player comes off and then they change their minds: is this allowed?

Bath secured another penalty after 65 minutes and Michael Lipman showed great leadership as he jumped on Claassens just as the young South African was about to run away with the ball, with no support. Lipman's quick action ensured Barkley was able to stretch the lead with another kick at goal. It was crucial at this stage to regain a two score lead.

But Bristol were determined to get back in to the game and they spent some five minutes grinding their way from halfway to within touching distance of the Bath goal line. Fortunately they fumbled and Higgins took the ball downfield before feeding Shaun Berne who made good ground and off-loaded to Matt Banahan who used his immense strength to score.

The game finished with a bit of toing and froing up and down field and finally Alfie To'oala Vaeluaga hoofed the ball towards the Bath line to set up a last minute ruck. However the defenders managed to kick the ball dead to end the game.

Well played Bath this was a great win and something of which you should all be proud.

Let's remind ourselves of the latest League positions.

Referee: Wayne Barnes

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