It was no doubt with one eye on one of the games of the year, that of local rivals Gloucester against Bath at the Rec, that Steve Meehan made the decision to rest key players when Bath went up against Wasps last week. The absence of players such as Butch James, Michael Claassens and Steve Borthwick from the starting XV against the European champions seemed like a rather odd decision, even allowing for squad rotation, and fans hoped that it was because Meehan wished to protect Bath’s stars so he would be able to field the strongest side possible against Gloucester in an attempt to maintain Bath’s unbeaten home record in the league against our foes. 

This season the Cherry and Whites are flying high, but Bath are hot on their heels. The team from Kingsholm came into this game at the top of the Premiership, and Bath, despite their defeat at Adam's Park a week ago, lay second. On a bitterly cold and wet night, the Sky cameras will have caught sight of Bath fans huddled together against the damp chill, with hipflasks and dreams of a great performance from Bath to warm them up. 

Despite the defeat to Wasps, Bath fans have had many reasons to be cheerful over the festive period, and they managed to extend the holiday cheer by beating Gloucester: something to which all supporters would gladly raise a glass. Any thoughts of the January Blues were banished as Bath put on an impressive display after standing water on the pitch meant the kick off was delayed until the referee, the now infamous Wayne Barnes, ascertained the safety of the playing surface. 

Bath were restored to a full strength team, with a heady mix of young stars in Matt Stevens, Nick Abendanon, and Matt Banahan, and experienced campaigners such as Danny Grewcock and David Barnes, with of course the South African half back pairing of Michael Claassens and Butch James that has been the root cause of much of Bath’s success since they joined together after the World Cup. 

With players such as Peter Short, Shaun Berne and Jonny Faamatuainu on the bench, it looked a formidable side. And so it proved when Bath managed to encapsulate the strength of feelings swirling around the Rec between the two sets of supporters by starting strongly and with energy. 

An impressive run from Banahan and a kick from James resulted in a line out dotted with fisticuffs involving David Barnes and Olivier Azam. Gloucester were penalised for entering the side of a maul, and after the lineout from Barkley’s kick, Bath received a penalty which they chose to try and convert to three points. Barkley missed, one of the few mistakes he made all evening. 

The build up of Bath pressure now began in earnest, and a notable incident saw a kick from Ryan Lamb- who underperformed for most of the night- go to Joe Maddock, who kicked a beautiful ball across the field into the corner for a lineout. Wayne Barnes penalised Bath for interfering with the jumper in the air, and Gloucester kicked downfield, to be fumbled by Nick Abendanon. The first half was dominated by kicking, a clear tactic given the wet ground conditions. 

If Lamb didn’t perform to his best, James did; adapting wonderfully at times to what must be the complete antithesis of what he has been used to playing in sunny Durban. Welcome to the West Country, Butch! 

Bath also had clear domination in terms of possession and territory, and admirably tried to play running rugby on an evening more suited to sitting in the pub nursing a pint. The constant line outs proved tiresome, but Mears threw very well, justifying his choice as Guinness Premiership man of the match. After a forward pass in one of Gloucester’s rare attacks, an excellent break from Lipman after a Bath scrum lead to Grewcock- who was back at his best despite this mistake- to knock on a slippery ball. 

There certainly were a few dropped passes, from Bath in particular (although this is perhaps because Gloucester so rarely had the ball!) Barkley indulged in a hitherto unknown passion for acrobatics when he didn’t fancy going around or into the ruck in front of him, and leapt clean over it. A similar (but less airborne) break from Lipman saw him race up the pitch, but there was no-one in support and Gloucester forced a turnover. 

After a Bath line out, powerful runs from Barnes and Grewcock took Bath closer to the try line and crossing from Gloucester meant they conceded a penalty. Kicked by Barkley, these were the first of the match. Barkley and Lipman linked up with James who kicked to the corner for a Gloucester line out. A nice run from Lamb was wasted as no Gloucester players were there to support him. After even more line outs and tit for tat kicking, Claassens demonstrated how wet it was when the ball popped out of a ruck and he slid in the mud for about 10 metres when he landed on it. 

All these attacks and heaps of possession were to no avail, for as the Gloucester defence held out, Bath went in at half time just 3-0 up. 

Gloucester’s defence was further tested throughout the second half. Some lovely blind side work form Lipman and Stevens sustained Bath pressure. Bath were camped on the try line and should have seen the space to the right of them; but after Gloucester hacked the ball clear, perhaps their minds switched off, for the ball was gathered, and showing the kind of insight necessary for him to make an impact on the international stage, Abendanon saw Maddock in acres of space across the field, kicked the ball in front of him, and celebrated with the crowd when Maddock scooped up the ball and went over for a try. Barkley converted. 

Clearly not having his best night, Lamb was taken off with Patterson replacing him, after a Gloucester attack saw Mike Tindall being bundled powerfully into touch. Patterson made an instant impression, making a break after Bath were penalised and forced to retreat 10 metres, and ran two thirds of the pitch at lightning speed, and although he missed the conversion, he had scored Gloucester’s first points of the match. 

The rest of the half was taken up with more line outs and scrums, at which Bath seemed dominant. As the rain began to come down again, and the pages in my notebook became soggy, Bath fans eyes turned to the countdown clock to my right. Gloucester never really looked like scoring more points, and as Bath took the decision to end the game in a series of powerful rolling mauls and muddy rucks, the clock (and the fans) counted down to zero. Claassens kicked the ball out, and the players celebrated with as much zeal as the fans. 

Despite Bath’s resurgence this year, it was always going to be a tall order for a team that has only recently begun clicking in a way that places them at the top of the table, to beat one of the form sides in Europe who have been beating almost everyone in their path for a little longer. With this in mind, it makes Bath’s victory all the more important, and is a good indicator of exactly where the side are at the moment, and the ambitions that they have set themselves. 

This was, in my eyes, a key game in the season; for to be at the same level of a team that makes winning a habit is hugely encouraging. Momentum is important in sport, and if Bath can manage to keep the ball rolling (forgive the pun) then we can have high hopes for the remainder of the season. 

On the drive home I was musing over who I would consider for Man of the Match, and genuinely could not reach a decision. Olly Barkley, Michael Lipman, Andy Beattie and Danny Grewcock all deserve a special mention, but this really was a team effort. About 10 or 15 minutes from the end, I heard the words of Borthwick being picked up on RefLink, and he said; “Come on boys. Believe. Believe in us!” If Bath keep going at this pace, the whole rugby world will start to believe too.

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