Expectation was high amongst Bath supporters who had already witnessed victories against two Magners League Teams, Ulster and Llanelli. After Edinburgh's impressive win against Wasps the previous weekend and with a line-up filled with Scottish Internationals, it was clear that they would pose more of a threat than previous pre-season opponents.

Steve Meehan was forced into making a few changes from last week's encounter against Llanelli. Stuart Hooper and Peter Short filled in at blind-side and lock respectively but alternated roles as the game progressed. Justin Harrison came in for the injured Danny Grewcock and Lee Mears returned at hooker. Meehan also experimented with a new centre partnership of Fuimaono-Sapulo and Hape. Edinburgh brought in a number of Scottish Internationals with Mike Blair, Hogg, De Luca and former Gloucester player Paterson all starting.

(picture courtesy - Jules)

Both sides started the game relatively tentatively with Lipman, Berne and Jonny F all making their mark early on with a series of big hits on Edinburgh players. Both sides exchanged penalties which resulted in kicks for position. Bath had two early scares in the first ten minutes with both Claassens and Berne having kicks charged down but luckily neither of them resulted in chances for Edinburgh. 

In the 10th minute came Bath's best move of the game. New signing Shontayne Hape broke through the Edinburgh defence to pass to Maddock, the try scoring hero from last week. His quick feet and vision led to a pass inside to Abendanon who had a clear run in for the opening try of the game. This was the killer-instinct and fluid rugby that Bath managed to develop last season. Berne missed the resulting conversion as the ball faded to the right. 

Stuart Hooper caught the re-start superbly and for the next few minutes the game fluctuated in the middle of the field. The Edinburgh loose-head Curr at this stage was clearly having difficulty binding, much to Matt Stevens' annoyance. In the 16th minute of the game Shaun Berne added another Bath penalty after Edinburgh were penalised for coming in at the side. However, putting Bath 8-0 up these proved to be Bath's last points of the game.

In the 25th minute of the first half Bath were reduced to 14 men with Jonny F sin binned for what seemed to be an elbow in the ruck. During these next ten minutes, despite a marauding run from David Barnes, Edinburgh managed to chip away at Bath's lead with Paterson kicking three penalties which left the half time score as 9-8 to Edinburgh.

(picture courtesy - Jules)

As the light began to fade over The Rec, the second half began with a series of Bath knock-on's. These early frustration's typified the second half for the home side. Edinburgh closed down Claassens and prevented him from distributing effective ball to unleash the backs. This tactical feat was fronted by the superb Mike Blair, much to the annoyance of the Bath back three. Early in the second half, as a result of this pressure on Claassens, after a kick through from Edinburgh's Callum, Webster managed to gather the ball and ground it to give Edinburgh a six point lead. This lead was further added to in the 57th minute after a superb Edinburgh move capitalised on one of the numerous turnovers that occurred in the second half. A sweeping move by Blair led to Turnball grounding the ball which ended up being the last score of the game. The conversion was missed by Paterson.

It was this last score that prompted Meehan to make numerous changes with the whole of the front row being replaced in the 58th minute. These replacements were soon followed by three more for Bath. However, they were delayed by a sickening clash of heads between Lipman and David Blair. The concern was clearly evident on the players faces, no less by Mike Blair who stood over his brother as the physio's attended to him. Fortunately both were able to walk off the field, though it was doubtful that either player knew what day it was. Scaysbrook came on for Lipman, Cuthbert for Abendanon and Cheeseman for Berne. 

The switch of Fuimaono to fly-half failed to propel Bath back into the game who were frustrated by a committed Edinburgh defence. It was the impact of Banahan that signified an attempt to regain a foothold in the match and it was only sheer numbers of bodies that prevented him from making an immediate impact on one of his runs down the wing. Knock-ons and turnovers remained prevalent in Bath's play much to their frustration.

Credit has to go to Edinburgh as they came with a game-plan to frustrate Bath's distribution and this was executed well. Overall, however, Bath has reason to feel disappointed after their performance. In response to the ELV's it is still too early to call exactly how well we're coping, but the line-out definitely needs work before next week's clash with Bristol. 

With the presence of Josh Ovens and Cuthbert in the second half it is clear that Bath have exciting prospects on their books and they can only get better as they have more game time. However, Bath will have to improve on this performance if they are to gain a win against Bristol next weekend. Hopefully with the return of Butch James, the form of last season can be regained. With the exciting youngsters and established individuals that Bath have, there is no reason why this cannot be another successful season for the BBW.

Bath Team: Abendanon (Cuthbert 60), Maddock, Hape, Fuimaono-Sapolu, Higgins (Banahan 74), Berne (Cheeseman 60), Claassens (Bemand 71); Barnes (Bell, 58), Mears (Dixon 58), Stevens (Flatman 58), Harrison, Short, Hooper, Lipman (Scaysbrook 60), Faamatuainu (Ovens 78).

Bath 8 (Tries: Abendanon, Penalties: Berne 1)

Edinburgh 19 (Tries: Webster, Turnball, Penalties: Paterson 3)

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