By Hamptonite
December 11 2010

The shock result from Italy kept Bath firmly in place for a place in the final stages of the HC cup despite them falling to a 22-18 defeat at a sunny and balmy Ravenhill against Ulster

With heavy industrial heaters hired from England and straw obtained from Rory Best's farm, the Ravenhill pitch was declared fit to host an intriguing battle between two sides for whom losing was not an option.
 
Bath Rugby’s home defeat by Biarritz had made this, and the next 2 home matches, essential wins if HC interest was to extend to the knockout stages. To paraphrase the legendary Bill Shankly, winning is not a matter of life and death, it is much more important than that!
 
The Ulster team featured former Bath winger and Scottish International Simon Danielli and Ireland and British Lions, Stephen Ferris, who seemed to spend much of last year’s HC campaign providing evidence to disciplinary hearings for attacks on his person. Perhaps his ability to provoke a fight in an empty room is diminishing.
 
The original plan was to have all 4 returning Internationals restored to the Bath starting line up but Shontayne Hape's wife giving birth today gave Olly Barkley the chance to get his 200th game for the club at inside centre. Jack Cuthbert following his excellent LV= cup exploits deserved his start while Matt Carraro had recovered from injury. Nick Anbendanon took his place on the bench as he recovers from a groin injury.
 
Baths early pressure led to Olly Barkley converting an early penalty and this lead was extended when, following a period of Ulster pressure threatening the Bath line, Jack Cuthbert picked out a floated pass on Bath's 5m line and ran the length of the field to fall over the line to the left of the posts. To us in the main stand it looked as if big Jack would not make it, but determined running saw him fall over the line. Olly added the extras to give us a somewhat undeserved 10-0 lead after 10 minutes.
 
The Bath trait of giving penalties away in kickable positions led to Ian Humphries pulling the score back by 3 points before a very clever up and under from Barkley saw a good challenge from Abendanon ( on early for Tom Biggs) and the ball fell to Lewis Moody who saw off a challenge and strode over from 20m. Barkley's conversion attempt hit the right hand post, but Bath had a 15-3 lead after 25 minutes.
 
Two minutes later, Bath were reduced to 14 men after a high tackle from David Flatman and after repelling all that Ulster had to throw at them, Bath conceded a soft try when, after a turnover, Beattie threw a soft looping pass to Wannenburg on the half way line and the number 8 ran 50m to dot down without a Bath player able to get near him.  Humphries added the extras and a penalty by the same player right on the break made the half time score 15-13 to Bath.
 
The second half started with a scrum offence giving Barkley another 3 points before a series of 3 penalties in kickable positions saw Ulster in front for the first time in the match.  Two of these came from individual errors which are starting to cost Bath dear in a season where they are finding scoring difficult to come by!
 
The last 10 minutes of the match were played out in the Ulster half but a series of knock-ons and turn-overs prevented the visitors from adding to the score and a knock on, and subsequent scrum in the 80th minute was dealt with by the Ulstermen and the ball dispatched into row Z for the final whistle.
 
Olly Barkley had a decent game in orchestrating things at number 12 and Jack Cuthbert was very steady at full back. Nick Abendanon, despite carrying an injury looked good on the wing, but Matt Banahan needs more of that superglue on his hands if he wants to be a burgeoning 13.
 
All in all a fair result which was made better at the final whistle when mobile internet told us that Aironi had beaten Biarittz, to keep the group wide open.  Bath must win next week in the reverse game at the Rec and I would like to see even a half-fit Butch James unlocking a dodgy-looking Ulster defence.  Bath's defence is looking good but as an attacking force we are poor.

Meanwhile, I am going out in Belfast to find a scapegoat for this defeat.  I am looking for Rory Best - he started it by having all that straw available!