With the end of the season approaching, much of the talk in the past week was not on events on the pitch, but those off it. In a week where Shaun Berne more or less admitted he was leaving at the end of the season, a sense of deflation hung over the club after the last minute heartbreak against the Tigers. And what with a huge step forward for the future of the Rec it’s all been a bit academic. So the clash against the Falcons, a must win if we are to seriously contend in the playoffs, was a welcome distraction.

Bath looked set to move on from the disappointments at the Walkers Stadium last week with a trip to Kingston Park in an important game against Newcastle Falcons. With a playoff spot at stake, there was no time for looking back at what could have been in the Heineken Cup, and the team’s attention was turned towards the fight in the Guinness Premiership.

On a beautiful sunny day at Kingston Park , Bath started brightly, a sign the effects from last week weren’t being felt. Bath attacked the Newcastle line within the first minute, with Michael Claassens making some speedy breaks and weaving between. Newcastle players. After another Claassens break and some soft, quick hands from Butch James, Shontayne Hape knocked on and the resulting scrum was a bit of a mess, meaning Tom May had a shot at goal. The miss looked to be important, as Bath resumed attacking and had all the possession. But Newcastle grabbed a chance as the ball popped out of the ruck and was hacked on by the Falcons. A chip across the field to Danny Williams saw him easily gather and go over the line; a cheap try from Bath’s point of view as they had looked the better team.

It all went wrong for Bath now; Butch James missed two relatively easy penalties, there were knock-on’s aplenty and Bath looked all at sea. They looked shaky and worried, and so was I by this point. After a little bit of handbags, Butch James kicked to the corner, and the ball was brought across the field. Bath seemed to have no fear in terms of running and taking on the defence, but far too often the support wasn’t there and the ball was turned over or knocked on. This particular attack was brought to a swift end by Newcastle, who turned the attack around and looked confident.

After Newcastle attacked the try-line once again, Bath chose not to get rid of the ball through a kick to touch, but by putting it through their hands and running up the pitch. It looked like a good ploy; Banahan burst through the Falcons and went past the 22. But when they failed to hang onto it and the ball was turned over, Newcastle capitalised on the confusion, nipping up the blind-side and scoring a try to leave Bath hearts sinking.

After the conversion, Bath were 14 points down and had failed to score a single one in retaliation. The few minutes left in the half were, once again, full of Bath breaks and runs, but resulting in nothing but the frustration of their fans. As the half-time whistle blew, the boys' body language was appalling- they looked like it was all over. Steve Meehan would need to give them a talking too like they hadn’t received in a long while if they were to turn the game around. Butch looked jaded and tired; would you all judge me harshly if I said I wanted to go and give him a hug?

As the second half kicked off, Butch had been replaced by Ryan Davis. A gamble perhaps, but it was time to try anything to pull it around. After just one minute he had a chance to kick for goal. But no joy. This was getting painful. Newcastle were giving Bath chances, and the West Country side kept attacking. A kick from Davis downfield was counter-attacked but knocked on, offering a chance to kick at goal. Davis had another go, but missed again. This was becoming not just disappointing, but deeply frustrating and almost comically bad. Bath were camped on the try-line, they kept attacking and they kept having a go, but no points came. The most promising attack was turned over and a look at the scoreboard confirmed Bath still had no points. The possession and territory was all Bath’s, and it was surreal that Bath had no points from it.

Bath players were constantly being smothered in the Falcons defence, which was extremely impressive. Driven back all the time, it was hard to see where the break from Bath was going to come from. It came from Michael Claassens who popped through the legs of the Falcons, after play was brought back after no advantage came to Bath, and the try was scored. About time too, because Bath should have scored many, many times beforehand. Ryan Davis missed the conversion, which was hardly surprising, considering.

Newcastle almost scored after the kick off, but Ryan Davis saved the situation and got the ball away to Andy Higgins. Newcastle started to attack, but Bath reversed the situation, and this time had some space to run. Hape ran up the touchline and scored a powerful try to get Bath within four points. Amazingly, the hard conversion from the edge of the pitch was kicked by Davis and the gap was two. Duncan Bell thundered up the pitch, and Sorenson was penalised in front of the posts. Davis had a chance to take the lead. He took it. Blimey. 14-15.

But within a minute Tom May had a chance to take the lead back and strode up to the kicking tee knowing how important this kick was. But it went well wide, to the relief of all wearing blue, black and white.

The Newcastle attack which seemed certain to end in a try was actually ended after a knock on. Davis kicked downfield and got a penalty. Lipman chose to get the ball down in the corner, and Rob Hawkins had a chance to show  what he could do. On the 22, most of the Bath team piled in to try and secure the ball. They failed though, as Newcastle got a chance to attack again, with three minutes to go. This was see-saw rugby as you’d never seen it. Another Newcastle break saw a wobbly knock on, which was desperately needed by Bath . Michael Stephenson, against his old club, was sparky and swift when he was on, which was for most of the second half. He knew he needed to impress. With two minutes to go, Bath won a scrum and wound the clock down. Ryan Davis kicked the game off, and amazingly, astoundingly, brilliantly, Bath had won.

Michael Claassens was outstanding today, taking on the whole of the Falcons team by himself. We missed him while he was away, and you could see how desperate he was to get stuck into the game of rugby again. The turnovers were crucial, and we saw so many it got ridiculous. It really was one of the most frustrating games I had ever seen. Hape, Higgins and Banahan made ground and attacked and attacked, but were always seemingly swallowed up by the Newcastle defence. Their tenacity must be applauded. Bath must be given masses of credit for coming back in the way they did; it was so impressive and they probably can’t believe they did it. I certainly can’t. It’s a shame the kicking was shaky, it’s a shame it was such a slog, and it’s a shame we made such hard work for ourselves, but isn’t it worth it when it comes right at the end? We’ll need to improve, but right now, the boys deserve a pint and a good night’s sleep. They looked exhausted, and after sitting through that game, so am I.

Referee: Andrew Small

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