When Topsy Ojo carved his way through a static Bath defence for his team's third try the Bath players looked at each other in disbelief. It was as though they too were standing on the terraces watching the match instead of participating. The only noise in the ground, other than the rustling of anoraks as home supporters were shaking their heads,  was the cheers of visiting players and supporters who couldn't believe how their opponents had capitulated in the space of 25 minutes.

At 17-0 after 40 minutes most people in the ground would have wondering at what time Bath would get their winning bonus for scoring one more try in the second half. As the players emerged from the changing rooms any sane on-course bookmaker would have refused to take a bet against Bath because, judging by the first half performance of both teams, Bath were bound to score and win and London Irish would be lucky to get a score to make the result appear less embarrassing. How wrong we were.

Bath started the match in top gear whereas London Irish spent most of the time in reverse gear and the home side thought they had scored after just four minutes only to be (rightly) pulled back when the final pass to Pieter Dixon was adjudged forward when he had the line at his mercy.

However Bath soon opened their account after eleven minutes when Butch James hoofed a very high ball on to the edge of the Irish twenty-two. Full-back Homer struggled to gain control and was knocked over by Andy Beattie who set up the move that ended with Stuart Hooper crashing over in the left-hand corner. James missed the tough conversion, as he would the next, but his kicking from hand throughout the first half was sublime, putting the visiting defenders under so much pressure they struggled to cope.

Bath's second try was similar to the first, with James kicking at Homer who again struggled. The Bath pack ran over the unfortunate full-back, regaining possession before Claassens swung the ball wide to Flatman who gained ground, off-loaded to Hooper who was stopped just short of the line but managed to feed Matt Banahan who reached over for the score.

Joe Maddock scored Bath's third try on the half-hour mark after Ojo mistimed his clearance kick and, after a bit of ping-pong between both teams, Alex Crockett got the ball to Bath's full back for the five points. Third time lucky from the same location as the previous conversion attempts saw James slot home for two more points and a 17-0 lead. Bath were on fire, it was a lovely sunny day, what could go wrong?

And then the second half started.....

Adam Thompstone score after five minutes of the re-start after Bath lost the ball whilst attacking. All Butch James could do, as he tried forlornly to chase the Irish winger, was keep him from running towards the posts. This action ensured Geraghty's kick was difficult and he missed his conversion attempt.

Irish almost scored within moments of the restart after Seilala Mapusua chased through the Bath line, stopped and chipped Banahan only to see Armitage knock-on when he and Ojo had an undefended goal line in their sights.

Bath's attempt at second half self destruction was epitomised by Matt Banahan's fumble of the ball whilst trying to run out of his twenty-two when a hoof out of play was required. From easy defence to a difficult five yard scrum following a loss of composure! Save his score, Banahan struggled through much of the match, appearing to lose focus at key moments.

Seilala Mapusua scored after 60 minutes and this was followed up by Ojo four minutes later. Bath Rugby was in disarray and suddenly it looked as though the visitors would snatch an unlikely win after being slaughtered in the first half. Fortunately Bath hung on, managed a few late assaults on the Irish line and kept the score at 20-20.

This was definitely Premiership points lost and the coaching staff will give their charges a rocket next week. After the game Steve Meehan voiced his frustration, "I said to the players 'How do you have a 17-0 lead and turn it into a 20-20 draw?' He continued, "Irish's first try was a good one, but their second and third tries should never have come about. Irish are a very good side and you cannot go to sleep against them. To allow them the holes we did was criminal.'"

Referee: Chris White

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