By Falcon1 (11/05/03)
May 12 2003

Last week there was a palpable sense of relief as Falcons escaped the relegation zone with a gritty determined performance. Yesterday, Bath took on that mantle, ensuring their Premiership survival with a 24-12 victory over a Falcons side that failed to capitalise on dominant first half possession. Let there be no mistake – Bath deserved their victory and on yesterday's performance have much to offer the Premiership, whether as Bath or as 'Wessex Stormers'. But Newcastle Falcons also played their part in an entertaining spectacle of rugby at the Recreation Ground and had they seized their chances, the outcome for both teams could have been very different.

Prior to the game there was a sense of uncertainty, even trepidation, amongst the Bath fans gathered in the crowded bar or the aisles that link parts of the ground. And who could blame them? In bottom place and faced with a possible merger with their bitter rivals, Bristol, things looked bleak for Bath supporters.

And yet when Bath took the field, led by their retiring prop John Mallett, there was a sense of purpose in their demeanour. Bath were not ready to concede their place amongst the elite of English rugby just yet. And they were not ready to secure that place through a merger or committee room machinations, but rather through their performance on the pitch.

Dominant Falcons

The match opened with the Falcons, despite missing a number of key players through injury, taking the game to their opponents. A poor pass from Jonny Wilkinson squandered an ideal scoring opportunity for Tom May and was a presage of what was to follow, with Newcastle Falcons creating scoring opportunities but failing to capitalise on them due to poor handling.

Bath also had their opportunities: a charged-down penalty kick following a lineout infringement, gave Seveali'i the opportunity to make a 20 metre break before being bundled into touch.

Injured

The opening scores of the game went to Newcastle Falcons. After a period of sustained pressure on the Bath try-line, with no reward, Jonny Wilkinson calmly slotted over a drop goal. The Falcons continued to put pressure on Bath, with James Grindal making a run deep into Bath territory, supported by Hugh Vyvyan and Richard Arnold. An offside infringement in defence gave Jonny the opportunity to slot over a penalty goal from the left. With less than 15 minutes gone, the Falcons were leading 6 - 0 and had been the dominant side. However, Bath struck back.

A pass to Tom May on the right wing went astray - May pulled up with a knee injury and was not ready for the pass. The ball rebounded off him, was gathered up by Tom Voyce and passed via Gareth Cooper to Bath full-back, Iain Balshaw, who ghosted through a gap and placed the ball between the posts. With Ollie Barkley’s successful conversion, Bath now had a 7 - 6 lead.

The Falcons did not panic but continued to press the Bath defence, swinging the ball along the line, right, then left. But try as the Falcons may, they could not, even with Liam Botham on in place of Tom May, find the gap they were searching for. However, with 26 minutes gone, a penalty awarded (ironically, given the events of last week) for a high tackle on Andrew Mower by Andy Beattie, allowed Wilkinson to recover the lead for the Falcons.

Growing Impact

Andrew Mower was having a good game, picking up and re-cycling loose ball and offering protection to Jonny Wilkinson. Mark Mayerhoffler showed the growing impact he is having on the Falcons back-line, darting here and there and creating attacking moves. Both sides were now playing attractive, running rugby, seeking the breaks that would lead to a try. When the break came, in the 36th minute, it was Bath that benefited. Having stolen a line-out ball, they moved the ball first right then left, and a looping move by Barkley, linking with Jonathan Humphreys and Iain Balshaw, created the overlap that allowed Tom Voyce to score in the left corner, although there were suggestions that there had been a forward pass. Olly Barkley duly kicked the conversion attempt from the touchline and Bath had a 14 - 9 lead.

Further attempts to breach the Falcons' defence on the left wing followed, with both Mark Mayerhofler and Joe Shaw having to make kicks up-field to clear the ball.

Half-time arrived with the score 14-9 in favour of Bath: the Falcons had enjoyed most of the territorial and ball possession, but had failed to exploit their dominance. As a disappointed Rob Andrew said after the game:

"We played really well for 30 minutes - we were the only side in it for 30 minutes and then gifted them a couple of tries just before half-time and it changed the whole game."

Bath Take Control

Immediately at the start of the second half, Jonny Wilkinson kicked another drop goal to reduce the deficit, and give hope to the large and noisy Falcons contingent that had made the long journey to Bath.

Ten minutes into the second half came the third Bath try. Newcastle Falcons attempted to run the ball out of their own twenty two. Mike Tindall tackled Jamie Noon, who lost possession. First Liam Botham and then Joe Shaw attempted to clear up the ball but were smothered by the Bath forwards, who secured a turnover. Dan Lyle collected the ball and passed it to Nathan Thomas who broke through to score a try, converted from the touchline by Ollie Barkley, giving Bath a 21-12 lead.

Bath set about chasing a fourth try to secure a bonus point. However, news was now filtering through on the thousands of mobile phones and radios glued to the ears of Bath supporters that London Irish were on the road to victory over Bristol and the crowd visibly relaxed.

The Falcons were still chasing a try and in one phase of play we were treated to the unusual sight of Craig Hamilton delivering a long cross-field pass to Jonny Wilkinson. A misdirected pass from Michael Stephenson to Joe Shaw squandered a chance for Shaw to score on the left wing. A few minutes later Jamie Noon fed the ball to Joe Shaw, giving him a clear-run at the Bath line, only for Shaw to drop the ball. It just wasn't going to be the Falcons' day.

Late substitution

With 72 minutes gone, Joe Shaw was substituted by Dave Walder and there was an immediate impact on the Falcons’ pattern of play: Walder linked with Wilkinson and Stephenson to add some speed and drive to the attacking options. The feeling amongst the Newcastle Falcons supporters, however, was that the substitution had come too late, and so it was to prove.

An almost certain fourth try for Bath was only prevented by a crunching tackle by Michael Stephenson. The final score came from a penalty by Ollie Barkley, leaving the full-time score as 24-12 in favour of Bath, and with the full-time whistle the steel drum band struck up and the home supporters began their celebrations.

Reflections

Bath survived the drop thanks to their own efforts, albeit by the narrowest of margins over their neighbours and prospective partners, Bristol, and will play again in the Premiership next season, although before then it will be interesting to see if there are changes at the top at the club, merger or no merger.

Speaking after the game, Bath coach Michael Foley was relieved, saying:

"I am a bit lost for words. The players were magnificent, and I am thrilled for them. We put together some of our best attacking rugby today, and I am ecstatic for them."

At the same time, Foley recognised that Bath have not performed as their fans would have expected this season:

"We are still at the bottom end of the Premiership, and it hasn't been a successful season. We shouldn't have been in this situation this season, and we shouldn't have been in it last season either, and we now need to be able to start on the front foot for next term."

Bath supporters clearly feel aggrieved that the legacy of the Jack Rowell era has been sold down the river in recent years and many are opposed to the proposed merger with Bristol, a merger they see as being in the latter's interests, and viewing all such talk as the manifestation of a rift of understanding between the Board on one side and the players and supporters on the other.

And once the little matter of a merger is resolved Bath have to tackle the tricky problem of developing a new ground appropriate to a Premiership team in a city full of historical buildings and narrow streets. Whilst yesterday was a time for celebration and relief, there were many amongst the 8,350 crowd already asking why Bath had endured the threat of relegation for a second year running, and why their ground, attractive as the setting is, is stuck in a time-warp. Mike Catt perhaps expressed the views of many at the Recreation Ground when he said, " We are embarrassed to be in this position. People at the top have got to change."

For Newcastle Falcons, well they completed 'The Great Escape' last week, having spent most of the season at or just above the bottom of the table. If they had won this game, they would have secured a Wild Card play-off place and the possibility of Heineken Cup competition. But would they have been ready for either? The squad has worked hard to secure survival in the Premiership and is looking tired, and as yesterday showed is missing the influence of Mark Andrews and others unavailable due to injury or suspension. The Falcons finish the season in tenth position. Next season they will still be in the Premiership, something that even a few weeks ago was looking uncertain, and they will be in next season's second-tier competition - the Parker Pen Challenge Cup.

The players emerging from the dressing room yesterday were clearly disappointed, as was their manager, commenting, "On one hand we're very pleased to have got out of the trouble we were in, but we have finished on a bit of a low note really."

Perhaps what is need now is a long rest, before beginning the preparations for next season.

Starting Line-Ups

	Newcastle Falcons		Bath
15	Joe Shaw	15	Iain Balshaw
14	Tom May	14	Elvis Seveali'i
13	Jamie Noon	13	Kevin Maggs
12	Mark Mayerhofler	12	Mike Tindall
11	Michael Stephenson	11	Tom Voyce
10	Jonny Wilkinson (Captain)	10	Ollie Barkley
9	James Grindal	9	Gareth Cooper
1	Ian Peel	1	Dave Barnes
2	Nick Makin	2	Jonathan Humphreys
3	Marius Hurter	3	John Mallett
4	Craig Hamilton	4	Andy Beattie
5	Hugh Vyvyan	5	Danny Grewcock (Captain)
6	Craig Newby	6	Nathan Thomas
7	Richard Arnold	7	Dan Lyle
8	Andrew Mower	8	Gavin Thomas

Replacements:

Bath: Matt Stevens for John Mallett (50min); Mears for Humphreys (62); Delve for Lyle (62); Catt for Tindall (73min); Scaysbrook for G Thomas (80).

Newcastle Falcons: Botham for May (15); Ward for Hurter (55); Charlton for Grindal (60); Walder for Shaw (72).

Referee: Chris White
Touch Judges: Martin Fox, Brian Campsall

Scorers:

Bath:
Tries: Balshaw (15min), Voyce (36min), Thomas N (50)
Conversions: Barkley (3)
Penalty goals: Barkley (80)

Newcastle Falcons:
Penalty goals: Wilkinson (26min), Wilkinson (13)
Drop goals: Wilkinson (8min),Wilkinson (41)

Scoring Sequence: 0-3, 0-6, 7-6, 7-9, 14-9 (half-time), 14-12, 21-12, 24-12.

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Match Preview: Bath Time Finale