Bath had planned to make just one change from last weeks team with Martyn Wood replacing Nick Walshe but late injuries saw the loss of Maddock and Higgins with James Hudson being preferred to Rob Fidler at the last moment. London Irish had one change from their last game with Nils Mordt replacing Mike Catt at inside centre after the the man with the paws was ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury. A lot of spleen venting had taken place in and around Bath over the past seven days and everyone agreed it was time to move on prior to this match.

Bath got off to a super start with a Frikke Walsh try and Olly Barkley touchline conversion within 7 minutes after the visitors had all the possession in the opening exchanges of play. Bath were clearly looking to get gallons of pent up emotion out of their collective system and attacked the London Irish line in waves. However alongside these early positive moves were some (perhaps understandable) nervy moments with Chris Malone almost being intercepted and Andy Williams having to sweep up after Scott Staniforth hacked a loose Bath pass up-field to give the visiting fans an unhappy moment of de ja vu from the Cup Final. Malone also tried a drop goal from inside the Bath half when really he should have been setting up another attack as Bath clearly had Irish on the ropes. Needless to say the kick fell short from such a distance: why couldn't he have tried a few of those kicks in the second half last week?

Barry Everitt had two opportunities within two minutes to take the score back to 6-7 but one kick hit the post and the other slid wide of the posts. Fortunately for Everitt it was third time lucky and the score was taken to 3-7 after 15 minutes.

Bath then appeared to go off the boil and were penalised after 27 minutes right in front of their posts with James Scaysbrook being binned for the offence. A simple kick for Everitt made the score 6-7 and suddenly there was a role reversal within the game with Bath on the back foot as the home team attacked at will.

Olly Barkley had an opportunity to stretch the Bath lead after 30 minutes but he hooked the penalty kick wide but Chris Malone gratefully grabbed the three points with a successful drop goal with just five minutes left in the first half to take the score to 6-10. But Irish had the bit between their teeth and almost took the lead from the restart as Bath struggled to clear their lines with Dillon Armitage diving at the ball right on the Bath line, just failing to touch down before the ball hit the corner flag. This was a real let off for Bath and just served notice on what was to happen a few moments later as Michael Horak grabbed a try just before half-time. Everitt kicked the conversion to make the score 13-10 at the break.

Bath were the first team to score in the second half with Zac Feaunati touching down after just about everyone in the team appeared to have the ball in their hands as they attacked the Irish line. Fortunately for Bath it was a case of quick passing and weight in numbers which saw the score and Bath taking the lead 13-15. Unfortunately Barkley's conversion hit the post but he successfully kicked a penalty on the hour mark to stretch the lead to 13-18. 

Barry Everitt responded with a kick of his own after 68 minutes to take the home side to within two points of the visitors and matters were made worse for Bath within two minutes after they infringed in front of their posts: Everitt's kick was sweet and Irish regained the lead 19-18 - real nip and tuck stuff.With a last throw of the Bath dice John Connolly asked skipper Jonathan Humphreys to go and marshal his young charges to grab a late win for his side with just seven minutes to go.

Whatever Bath did they couldn't get the vital break through to regain the lead until London Irish dropped the ball in front of their own posts with just a minute to go and this led to a series of Bath scrums. The Bath pack struggled to control the scrums to provide the platform required for a late Malone drop goal and so they charged at the Irish line and then set up a series of backs passes and moves which should have led to a try. But try scoring has not been our forte all season and the opportunities were not taken: fortunately the ball found its way back to Chris Malone who turned from last week's villain to this weeks hero as he kicked the desperately needed three points to give Bath a 19-21 win.

Referee Rowden added another 7 minutes of injury time after the Bath score and on the last play of the game it looked as though all Barry Everitt had to do was catch the ball on the edge of the Bath twenty-two and swing his leg but he dropped the catch and, as the ball tumbled to the floor, the home supporters must have sighed wondering whether this single act was a premonition of their position in the Premiership.

London Irish: 15 Horak; 14 Staniforth, 13 Appleford, 12 Mordt, 11 Armitage; 10 Everitt, 9 Edwards; 1 Hatley, 2 Flavin, 3 Hardwick; 4 Strudwick, 5 Casey; 6 Gustard, 7 Dawson, 8 Reid.
Replacements: 16 Wheatley, 17 Paice, 18 Kennedy, 19 Danaher, 20 Roche, 21 Mapletoft, 22 Hodgson.

Bath: 15 Perry, 14 Williams, 13 Cheeseman, 12 Barkley, 11 Welsh, 10 Malone, 9 Wood, 1 Stevens, 2 Mears, 3 Bell, 4 Hudson, 5 Grewcock, 6 Lewis, 7 Scaysbrook, 8 Feaunati
Replacements: 16 Humphreys, 17 Barnes, 18 Delve, 19 Fidler, 20 Booth, 21 Walshe, 22 Davis

Referee: Ashley Rowden

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