Bath got off to a good start with a simple penalty in the first minute after Glasgow failed to roll away at a ruck. However a few minutes later Matt Stevens was pinged for not releasing the ball and Dan Parks made the score even against the run of play.

Bath opened their try scoring account after nine minutes when Butch James cleverly kicked forward and Banahan snatched a hanging ball from the air before dabbing down. Unfortunately James' touchline conversion didn't match the majesty of his clever chip kick to keep the score at 3-8 and it was all downhill for the rest of the first half for the visitors.  

Within three minutes of Banahan's touchdown Glasgow scored their own try after Bath's scrum failed under a strong Scottish shove, putting Claassens under pressure which saw his pass miss it's intended receiver (Shaun Berne) and a hack forward was followed up by Glasfgow's scrum half, Colin Gregor, who beat Joe Maddock to the ball to score. Parks tipped the conversion in off the posts to give the home side a 10-8 lead.

Dan Parks extended the Glasgow lead to 13-8 with another penalty after 19 minutes and the home side had the upper hand throughout the majority of the first half. Things went from bad to worse for the visitors, epitomised by Butch James kicking a penalty through the in-goal area thus losing any advantage from a penalty. Bath finished the half with a little bit of invention between James and Abendanon but it didn't trouble the scoreboard leaving it showing 13-8 at the break

Bath started the second half as they had played throughout the first, shambolic, after a simple dropped catch by Nick Abendanon whilst under no pressure. However they pulled their game together and drew level through a Shaun Berne try after 48 minutes following a long series of pick and drives that eventually ground down the home defenders. Butch James missed the conversion to keep the score at 13-13.

Just when Bath thought they were back in the match up popped Dan Parks three minutes later with another penalty to snatch back the lead. Butch James then kicked the restart straight in to touch to give Glasgow an advantage on half-way which typified the form of the key Bath players. The home side used this mistake to press on the Bath line but fortunately they couldn't score.

Matt Banahan scored his second try, and Bath's third, after being set up by Eliota after 60 minutes. Butch James kept his 100% record of missing conversions with the score at 16-18 although, to be fair to James, all of the kicks were out wide.

Butch James was then penalised for his trademark armless tackle to give Glasgow a penalty from which they scored to regain the lead by one point and he was lucky not to be yellow carded. James really needs to be careful with this tactic because, as much as he contributes with his strong and committed defence, we actually need him on the pitch for 80 minutes for his attacking prowess.

With just a few minutes left, and a few West Country hearts fluttering at nineteen to the dozen, Bath scored their fourth try of the afternoon through Joe Maddock, to regain the lead and grab a scoring bonus point, after being set up by Matt Banahan. Butch James finally converted his kick to make the score 19-25.

Similar to last week Glasgow didn't stop playing until the final whistle and it was a relief for all followers of the Blue, Black and White when the referee decided there was no time left on the clock.

All teams have a dodgy period within their season and, given that we're winning whilst playing poorly, let's not get too worried. Glasgow is a good side and they've certainly tested us to the limit over the last two week-ends but we still ended up winners. How many times in recent years have we watched Bath play well but end up losing?

Glasgow Warriors: Stortoni, Faatau, M. Evans, Henderson, O'Hare, Parks, Gregor, Va'a, Thomson, Low, Barker, Turner, Brown, Barclay, Beattie. Replacements: Nunez Piossek for Faatau (30), Jackson for Parks (61), Pinder for Gregor (61), Milligan for Thomson (63), Tckachuk for Low (40), Forrester for Beattie (75). Not Used: Palepoi.

Bath: Abendanon, Maddock, Berne, Fuimaono-Sapolu, Banahan, James, Claassens, Barnes, Dixon, Stevens, Harrison, Grewcock, Beattie, Lipman, Browne. Replacements: Crockett for Berne (67), Bell for Barnes (72), Mears for Dixon (48), Faamatuainu for Beattie (58). Not Used: Hooper, Bemand, Cuthbert.

Att: 3,306

Ref: C Berdos (France)

View a Printer Friendly version of this Story.

Bookmark or share this story with:

• Digg
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon