By Glen Leat
February 21 2004

Bath beat Leeds Tykes 22-13 in a closely fought battle in which the visitors held the lead for a large chunk of the first three-quarters of the game and it was only when Zac Fea'unati stretched over to score Bath's only try of the game that the home supporters could relax.

It was interesting to watch two Bath players playing at full-back today. One has bags of talent, knows it and though scoring five points for his country didn't shine as much as he could have done. The other has limited talent, has little confidence yet played out of his skin and notched up 17 points and ensured Bath extended their lead over Wasps in a game which was there for the losing. Well done Chris Malone!

Malone got off to a right shocker with the opening kick-off of the game as it flew off his boot and in to the crowd. Poor bloke, he must have thought this wasn't to be his day! We knew a few scraps were to be on order as well with Duncan Bell and his "oppo" scrapping within moments of Malone's loose kick. As ever feisty Martyn Wood maintained the battles as he tried to intimidate almost every player in the Leeds pack.

 

Referee David Rose appeared to have very loose control over the game at times as a variety of fights started and ended with little intervention from the officials. He also looked, from where I was sitting, to be taking his lead from the crowd whenever difficult decisions were to be made: if the the crowd shouted loud enough this acted as a reminder that maybe he should blow the whistle. I was really worried on one occasion when Duncan Bell looked as though he was knocked out stone cold (he didn't move a muscle for at least 30 seconds) yet the game progressed around him. Surely one of the officials could have seen what had happened and stopped the game? 

Mind you, with various idiots in the crowd perpetually screaming for "offside" every time Bath had the ball it is a wonder the officials can make any decisions. Yes Leeds did play close to the offside line at the rucks and mauls, but no more than any other team, come on folks give it a rest it's really boring. Why not click here to check out the offside law before screaming your inane protestations in future?

Mike Catt started the game keen to get as involved as he could but this just generally resulted in some loose chip kicks over the Leeds defenders without any hope of bringing his colleagues in to play: as Coach John Connolly said after the match, "Catty was trying a bit too hard." What particularly impressed me about Leeds in the first half was they had come to attack Bath and not take the easy options of kicking to touch. Not once did they claim a "mark" from Catty's loose kicks and when they attacked Bath down the right wing through Dan Scarbrough they looked very threatening.

Bath scored first through a Malone penalty on the Leeds 10 metre line. Bath were awarded a couple more penalties in similar positions to the first yet Malone opted for touch. Whether his first kick was at the very edge of his limit or whether his confidence was ebbing and flowing I do not know: what I do know is that those early penalties could have taken quite a bit of pressure off Bath as they struggled throughout the first half to contain the Leeds attackers.

One player brimming with confidence is Andrew Higgins, he put in numerous runs and tackles and seems to punch (if you'll pardon the expression) well above his weight. On one occasion he made a crunching tackle in midfield and a few minutes later he was on hand to scoop up the ball in our goal area after Dan Scarbrough had carved out a definite scoring opportunity for his team. He also saved Chris Malone's blushes by clearing the ball after the full-back had his kick from the 22 charged down. As things stand at present, if all players are fit, he has to be a first choice player because he offers so much variety in his game.

Bath's lineout was dominant today with Rob Fidler enjoying his role as "elder statesman alongside Humph in a very young pack. The only area for concern was the faffing around with calls as players were up and down the line like an underground train on the Circle line. At one time a lineout was held up as the pack looked for Zac Fea'unati, who was sunning himself out on the far wing with the backs! I love it when Humphries goes off and stands jumping around like a spring bunny on the line, catching every ball and making every tackle. JH has to be a future coach at Bath and despite his aging weary bones I would like to see him play another season for us.

The Bath pack's driving today was immense and Michael Foley must have been sat in the stands purring as he watched his "machine" turn the screw on the Leeds' forwards - poetry in motion(sic).

David Flatman limped out of the game after just 22 minutes and was replaced by David Barnes for his 100th game for the club - congratulations Barnsey, you've created a certain iconic status for yourself at our club and not a lot of players do that! Flatman is another injury we can do without and we must all hope his ailment is not long term. But we all know Barnsey of old and the fact that he won't let the side down, however he is not a first choice player any more and our tough run in requires the top players to all be fit.

Leeds scored the first try of the match after 25 minutes with Dan Hyde beating several forlorn tackles before crossing the whitewash. This had been on the cards for a few minutes as the visitors pounded the Bath line as the home side seemed to be a bit sluggish in all areas of their game. This was quickly followed by a second Malone penalty from distance to make the score 6-7 and then another to make the score 9-7, what a turnaround for Malone! Bath then really cocked things up as Martyn Wood was penalised for taking too long to get the ball from a ruck - too busy trying to catch Leeds offside! From the ensuing penalty the ball was tossed to Gordon Ross, standing on the Bath 10 metre line, and he drop-kicked the ball clean through the posts to give Leeds a 9-10 half time lead.

In the first minute of the second half Bath were penalised for not rolling away from a tackle and Leeds extended their lead to 9-13.

Ten minutes later Bath thought they had scored their first try of the game after Mike Catt swung a long pass out to Wylie Human who sprinted up the line, fed inside to Spencer Davey who crossed the Leeds' line; unfortunately the touch judge was vigilant for once and decided Human had placed a foot in touch. Disappointing maybe, but Bath were beginning to move up through their gears and put the sort of pressure on Leeds that was bound to result in a score: and it did as Malone converted a penalty in front of the posts to make the score 12-13.

Matt Salter was sin-binned after 52 minutes and this added to the pressure Leeds were now experiencing which ended up with Zac Fea'unati repeating what he did in the last match up - scoring a try against his former club and moving Bath up to 19-13. Bath continued to dominate the rest of the second half and a 70th minute Malone penalty ensured Bath notched up the win 22-13 with a very game Leeds side going home with nothing.

With just a week to wait before these two side meet again, in the Powergen Cup, it will be a brave punter who will place too much money on either side.

This bright afternoon finished on a slightly gloomy note as Bath fans discovered that Matt Perry's injuries require surgery which puts him out of the game for the rest of the season. I'm sure we all send our best wishes to Pezza and hope he makes a speedy recovery.

Well done Bath this was a gritty performance with a lot of young players demonstrating they have the character required to wear the blue, black and white with pride and distinction.

Bath: Malone, Human, A. Higgins, Davey, Crockett, Catt, Wood, Flatman, Humphreys, Bell, Hudson, Fidler, Beattie, Lipman, Fea'unati.
Replacements: Blake, Mears, Stevens, Mbu, Barnes, Scaysbrook, Gray.

Leeds: Cardey, Scarbrough, Davies, Snyman, Christophers, Ross, Dickens, Holt, Rawlinson, Powell, Murphy, Palmer, Salter, Hyde, Rigney.
Replacements: Cusack, Shelley, Hooper, Morgan, Walker, Hodge, Walsh.

Referee: David Rose (RFU)