After heated speculation this week as to the future of the Bath captain, Steve Borthwick, it was a shock when the announcement came on Wednesday that Borthwick would be leaving the club at the end of the season to join Saracens. We all understand that the professional game now is one in where money talks, especially in the context of the short careers players have, but this departure is pretty painful for Bath supporters, given that Borthwick is our captain; a position that one hopes that even in this money driven era, still creates a sense of loyalty.

However, we as supporters are of course not privy to all opinions and issues, and there were undoubtedly other factors in his decision that perhaps we shouldn’t speculate about (but I am sure that we will!) We will thank him for his time at Bath and wish him the best, and must look forward and hope that Steve Meehan’s proclamation that “Over the coming months, positive announcements will be made that will reassure fans that we are moving in the right direction” will soon bear fruit.

Nevertheless, the prospect of looking forward and attacking the task in hand looked potentially difficult; the playing of a game that was important in terms of securing the home Quarter Final in the European Challenge Cup (and of boosting confidence after the slight rocking of foundations this week) will have come as a welcome relief to fans and players alike, to move our thoughts away off field matters; but the game looked in danger of abandonment or postponement because of the dreadful weather conditions we have been experiencing in the West Country over the past week. The state of the pitch and the high water levels of the Avon were the two main factors that had to be considered, after we had seen heavy rain falling for much of the week. The Bath faithful who turned out in filthy weather were right to make the effort, for the game went ahead as planned, despite the constant drizzle that blighted the viewing pleasure.

Some of Bath’s strongest players were on the bench, such as Matt Stevens, Michael Claassens and Olly Barkley, and as such it was a real test of the mettle of young players such as Rob Hawkins and Mike Baxter, and they really stepped up. Bath started very strongly, with some nice running from the backs, Butch James in particular, that resulted in a penalty that was kicked to the corner. Despite a turnover by Auch, the kick away was sliced and some lovely soft hands from James, and strength and power from Danny Grewcock, meant that Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu stretched over the try line with the ball in hand. James’ conversion missed.

Auch then got some points on the board through a kick between the posts, and so the gap was only two points. The Bath pack showed their power with a rolling maul five metres from the try line after James had kicked the ball to the corner, but the ball slipped forward and Auch had the turnover. The resulting kick was gathered by Joe Maddock, and went through the hands until James kicked the ball to Shaun Berne. A Bath scrum was won by Auch but kicked straight into Bath hands. A knock on meant it was kicked out and Bath had a lineout. The ball at this stage was becoming very slippery, but admirably few errors were made because of this by both sides. Bath had a scrum, the home team was penalised and the resulting Auch penalty was a distinctly odd kick that didn’t make it through the uprights.

After a Bath lineout an excellent break from Michael Stephenson meant that he shipped the ball to Zak Feau'nati who powered over the line for a try. Once again, James’ missed the conversion. A scrum after the kick off was stolen by Baxter, who impressed me today in the way he bossed the game and seemed feisty and energetic. Stephenson and Maddock showed off their skills to the Bath faithful and the few travelling French fans when they broke through the Auch defence to rush up to the try line; their big friends soon arrived, and although Hawkins took the ball over, it was judged to have been held up.

After a resulting ruck, the crowd was calling for Baxter to send the ball to the blindside where there were no defenders, but once there, James couldn’t quite get the pass away. A knock on meant Auch kicked the ball away and created a Bath lineout, which was won by James Scaysbrook; a lovely run from Baxter set up Hawkins who almost ran away from the defenders, but was dragged down a few metres from the try line. The ball eventually went to Maddock who took his chance and dashed through the Frenchmen to score a try. James scored the conversion, and from then on and had a quite magnificent game.

We regularly saw beautiful soft hands and reverse passes from James, and his team mates have clearly been watching and taking notes. Some impressive power-filled runs from Grewcock saw Hawkins steal the ball but Stephenson couldn’t quite take the pass when it was passed to the wing. Some threatening running from Auch followed, and they fully deserved the try that was scored by Edmond Samuel after they had turned over a Bath scrum. The conversion was kicked, and the half time whistle blew.

At the beginning of the second half we began to see some rather questionable refereeing decisions, summed up by a blatant offence by the Auch hooker in the middle of a rolling maul; he came in at the side and had to hang on for deal life as the forwards powered adown the pitch, and this occurred right in front of the linesman, who took no action. The same incident occurred a few minutes later on the other side of the pitch, and was ignored. Auch kicked well to stop Bath pressure but did not find touch and the ball went down the wing to Maddock. James kicked for a lineout on the twenty-two and Jonny Faamatuainu disrupted the ball well in the air, but Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu knocked on in the subsequent attack.

After some brief fisticuffs, the referee decided to penalise Bath, and also forced them back 10 metres for dissent. Bath then won the ball and James kicked to the corner, a rolling maul was created from the lineout, and an Auch player was sin binned for trying to pull down the maul. Once the game restarted, Zak Feau'nati went over the line for his second try of the match. It’s sad to think this Bath stalwart won’t be around for much longer, according to reports. The conversion was taken successfully by James.

Matt Stevens made an instant impact when he came off the bench, encouraging and firing up his players and demonstrating his strength in open play. With Borthwick leaving, Stevens is one of our big names that we simply must keep! A Bath lineout won by Scaysbrook meant supporters saw some gorgeous reverse passes from Butch James and Bath mounted another attack. The ball was lost and kicked down field by Auch and Maddock and Stephenson sprinted hard to put the ball safely into touch. A lineout and attacking run from Auch created a penalty and Auch scored three more points.

An excellent break from James meant the ball went to Fuimaono-Sapolu but the ball was lost. The restart meant Bath tumbled over the try line, but the ball was held up. The ball at the scrum ended up with James, who again demonstrated his soft hands by setting up Berne for Bath’s fifth try. As the strains of “Ring Of Fire” died down (surely one of the best players songs!), the rest of the match was taken up with impressive Bath attacking play, but no points, and was dotted with a fight between seemingly all members of both teams. The crowd near to the fight showed previously unknown skills for improvisation with a chant of “You’re It” after the chaps on the field started shoving each other and demonstrating a game of violent “tag”. Considering how wet and cold Bath supporters- and no doubt the players- were, it was a bit of a waste of energy.

On the away leg to Auch, Bath were unlucky not to get a bonus point in the French chill, but this time, in the British damp, they managed to secure the points necessary to get a home Quarter Final. In frankly miserable conditions Bath seemed unaffected by the press speculation as to the future of its big stars by playing in an impressive manner given the nasty conditions and the slightly weakened team. That said, the players that perhaps at the moment wouldn’t be the first on the team sheet, such as Baxter, Hawkins, and Feau'nati were very good today, which is extremely encouraging. Butch James had a cracker, and Olly Barkley and Matt Stevens both impressed when they came on as substitutes, showing the fans who turned out to watch them in the rain, just how important it is to hang on to them both for as long as possible.

Bath: 15 Maddock, 14 Stephenson (Abendanon 64), 13 Fuimaono-Sapolu (Barkley 70), 12 Berne ©, 11 Higgins, 10 James, 9 Baxter; 1 Barnes (Stevens 56), 2 Hawkins (Mears 64), 3 Ion (Barnes 70), 4 Borthwick, 5 Grewcock (Purdy 77), 6 Faamatuainu, 7 Scaysbrook, 8 Feaunati (Browne 70)

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