Belly on the charge!

By Nicola Curtis
April 21 2012

Bath went into the last home game of the season with two pretty poor defeats behind them, but managed to hang on against Wasps to claim the four points.

The last game of the season at the Rec was an opportunity for Bath to try and put on a performance that went some way to repairing the damage a deeply unimpressive season had done to everyone’s confidence. A win for Wasps would all but guarantee them safety in a season that has been arguably even worse than Bath’s.  The last game of the season at home is always an opportunity to say goodbye to the players leaving at the end of the season- and goodbyes were no bigger than that given to Duncan Bell, who was named on the bench.

It is always a cliché to say “it was a game of two halves”, but it is applicable when discussing the match today. In summary; in the first half Bath were woeful, in the second they were OK. (Not really the glorious end to the season we may have wished for).

Duncan Bell, although named on the bench, was the first to run out on to the pitch; arms reached to the sky, the crowd reaction was akin to a rock star walking on stage. Bath started well, but it was merely a start for soon they were conceding penalties for fun. Once the opening rough lines were smoothed out, Wasps started to attack, with Nicky Robinson showing his skill with the boot. He soon kicked three points, taking the score to 0-3.

Stephen Donald was a world apart from his performance against Northampton and he kicked perfectly up to the 22. We saw the potential of his quick hands too as he set up an attack which saw a mass of Bath bodies pile over the line, but no try was given as the ball was held up.  Wasps took control now, with the score soon at 0-9 with only a few minutes to go. Bath’s performance was pretty poor at this stage, making either poor decisions or no decisions at all. While not quite on a par with the performance against Northampton, the first half was bad enough to cause mutinous mutterings in my section of the crowd at least. A moment of hope just before the whistle- a break from the 22 by Michael Claassens- came to nothing after the TMO judged he had been held up over the line.

The second half would have to be entirely different if Bath were to claw back anything from the game. Thankfully, the home team did come out showing at least an interest in the game in front of them and began making inroads into the Wasps defence. A Matt Carraro break took Bath up the field. After being pinged for a wheeling a scrum, Bath did manage to get the ball and were treated to a Duncan Bell- esque run from Lee Mears from the 22 into the far corner for a try. The conversion was missed but the score had given Bath something to show an interest in. Kyle Eastmond, on for blood for Carraro, showed real promise and genuine pace in his cameo.

Donald, with a lot to make up for after the Saints match, made a great break through the defensive line to run under the posts for a try, which this time was converted, giving Bath a fragile lead of 12-9. Tom Biggs looked set to hang on to that lead by putting in some cracking tackles, not least a tap tackle on speedster Christian Wade which saved an odds-on try. I really feel that but for Biggs, Bath would be in contention for relegation this season; his contribution cannot be emphasised enough.

After a pleasingly powerful run from Bell which helped set up Bath in an attacking position Dominic Waldouck was sin binned after what was presumably repeat offences as Bath were moving forward. With a man down, Wasps defence was worn down and conceded a try when Nick Abendanon loped over the line after prolonged ruck on the other side of the pitch.

Wasps got a penalty back, but this seemed to be immaterial when Sam Vesty approached the line a few minutes later, but he celebrated too soon and was tackled and held up (and sin of sins, he had Duncan Bell in space on his right shoulder). The screen flashed “try” and I was just thinking how relieved Vesty would be after his antics on the try line when “no try” was shown on the screen.  If the result had been balance on the basis of that try I think Vesty would have been banished from Bath!

With only a few minutes left, the game thankfully petered out, not withstanding one final tackle from Biggsy to save the day. The final score was 17-12.

I came away from the Rec simply relieved to have won. It was nowhere near the comeback promised after the Northampton and Sale games, but if a win is win, then that is- just- what we got.