No sooner had many supporters taken their seats at the start of the match when Joe Maddock was trotting back to his half having stunned the Rec with a try within the first minute. No sooner had the collective heartbeat returned to normal after this stunning opening and Jonny Faamatuainu was similarly enjoying some collective adulation after scoring Bath's second try after three minutes. The ground was buzzing with excitement and expectation.

Was Maddock's score the fastest ever try seen at the Rec? Was that the fastest ever brace of tries in a European match? Could we get three in five minutes?

Albi could have cracked completely down the middle after this heartbreaking opening. Suddenly in the space of a few moments all planned tactics were discarded as the French team scrambled to regain their composure and ensure they weren't humiliated. And to be fair to them the French players did stand up and be counted, well certainly for the next ten minutes.

After allowing two Bath players storm through their defence like a hot knife through butter Albi took possession of the ball and kept Bath on the back foot. Their big backs ran pretty patterns with the ball and and made some ground but did they ever really look threatening? No, not really.

After controlling the ball for well over five minutes Albi finally got on to the scoreboard when, after 12 minutes, Pieter Dixon was penalised for raising his foot too early in a scrum in front of the Bath posts. This was scant reward for the effort of the visitors but perhaps was just given their lack of vision. Their forwards had Bath on the retreat on several occasions but their backs were too keen on running around one another instead of heading for the heart of the Bath defence. Pretty it may be, penetrating it ain't!

Bath showed their visitors how to attack  and hurt the opposition when James Scaysbrook picked up a loose ball on the edge of the Albi twenty-two and dashed like a greyhound for the line. He was stopped short but had skill and presence of mind to flip the ball sideways to Shaun Berne who dived in for the score.

In the opening 15 minutes it was almost three attacks and three scores for Bath. Albi, who had equal possession and plenty of positive territory were being smashed for being soft in defence and lackluster in attack.

Albi finally made some use of their possession when Tim Bowker took advantage of some sloppy defence play from the home side. Over the following ten minutes Bath once again looked subdued and gave their opponents too much time on the ball, although Peter Short gave the crowd something to cheer about when he broke free for his now famous charge upfield. The question on may lips at present is whether Short has converted himself from second row cover to first choice. It'll be interesting to see what happens in the big games when Danny Grewcock returns from injury.

Albi had a great opportunity to score when Patrice Serre broke free down the left wing but, as he tried to chip Jonny F, the young Samoan stuck out a huge mitt and snatched the ball from the air before feeding Joe Maddock to clear for touch. Such plays are as exciting as tries and the young lad played his socks off throughout the game covering the whole pitch time and time again.

Just as it appeared Bath wouldn't be able to recapture the momentum of the opening minutes they played the most sublime rugby I've seen in a long time from their own twenty-two for some 50 metres. The ball handling and running was literally poetry in motion and was only stopped by a stray Albi hand that disrupted play. This clearly shook the Albi players and in the closing six minutes they were restricted to so much spoiling and foul play that the referee saw fit to sin bin Jérome Filitoga.

The half came to a fine end for Bath when Jonny F scrambled to cover a loose ball after Bath had been rucking on the Albi try-line. Claassens connected with the ball and fed James Scaysbrook who dashed in to the corner to score. A scrap after the score saw Albi skipper, Philippe Guicherd, follow Filitoga for a spell on the naughty chair.

Albi started the second half with two players in the bin and Franck Marechal attempting to join them as he flapped at the Bath back row like a penguin at an ear slapping contest. But instead of taking advantage of the absences Bath failed to score and it was the French team that scored next through a Justin Mensah-Coker try. Matt Stevens had cleared the Bath defence and set up a ruck but, just as Claassens was organising his clearing play, Albi took the ball and fed it wide right for Mensah-Coker to have a simple run in. 

Coach Meehan had seen enough and brought on Abendanon, Barkley, Beattie, Hawkins and Barnes to secure victory.

At 24-15 Albi were right back in the game and the referee gave them a chance to get within a converted try lead when he penalised Olly Barkley for holding on after catching a high ball. What the referee failed to spot was the French tacklers lying over Barkley making it impossible for him to release. Fortunately for Bath the penalty kick was missed but had it been slotted over we could have seen a very different game.

This scare was just what Bath needed and within a few moments the floodgates were opened and five tries scored. Hawkins scored first after Goodman charged into the Albi half and sucked in the defenders allowing Claassens to feed Berne who broke wide before passing to the replacement hooker who dashed some 30 metres to score under the posts.

Five minutes later Berne set up Barkley for his first score and four minutes after this Alex Crockett thundered through the defence to score. Surly this was the end of the tries but no, Berne and Barkley both wanted a brace each. The penultimate conversion was recalled after the Albi players ran from the posts too soon and Barkley quickly re-hoofed the ball between the sticks.

A final try and conversion from Barkley, the crowd went wild and the referee called time. What a weird game, especially as Bath scored 59 points with no penalties!

A curates egg of a game for Bath by any stretch of ones imagination. Stunning start and stunning end with some iffy bits in between countered by phases of brilliant rugby. There is certainly a lot for the coaches to ponder on when they review the video.

Referee: David Keane

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