Bok's score not enough to save Bath

MATCH REPORT: Bristol overcame a 12-point deficit at half-time to upset the odds by beating west country rivals Bath 21-19 in England’s PREM Rugby on Friday.

Victory for the hosts was all the sweeter given Bristol’s humiliating 33-94 defeat by league leaders Northampton last week and meant that reigning champions Bath are still looking for their first Prem win in Bristol since September 2008.

This result left Bath in second place, with Bristol fifth and on the verge of the title-deciding play-offs ahead of the bulk of the weekend’s fixtures.

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Bristol’s tries came from Fitz Harding, Max Lahiff and a penalty try, with both AJ MacGinty and Tom Jordan adding conversions.

Ollie Lawrence, Guy Pepper and Thomas du Toit scored Bath’s tries. Ciaran Donoghue kicked two conversions, with the titleholders 19-7 ahead at the break.

After a scrappy opening period, Bath looked to have taken the lead when a long pass from Donoghue provided Henry Arundell with a simple touchdown, but referee Karl Dickson immediately signalled that the scoring pass was forward.

The first quarter was a virtual non-event, but soon afterwards Bath raised their game to provide the first productive attack with Joe Cokanasiga making ground down the right flank before a succession of forward probes ended with Lawrence forcing his way over for the opening score.

That was the precursor for Bath to increase their dominance in the match, and it came as no surprise when they extended their lead when a smart break from captain Ben Spencer sent Pepper over.

Bears then suffered two injury blows in quick succession when both Santiago Grondona and George Kloska were forced to leave the field to fail HIA’s, with Lahiff coming on for his 200th Premiership appearance.

Bristol badly needed a boost before the interval, and they got one when Harry Thacker burst away from a lost Bath line-out to set up a platform from which Harding forced his way over, but that was soon nullified by a close-range try from Du Toit, with Donoghue’s conversion giving the visitors a 19-7 half-time lead.

Jordan replaced MacGinty for the second half before Bristol received an immediate boost with Arundell leaping him to deliberately knock on a long pass, which resulted in the wing being sin-binned and the award of a penalty try.

Bristol had a golden opportunity to take the lead when Louis Rees-Zammit broke free before kicking ahead but the wing could not take advantage of a favourable bounce as he knocked on with the try-line beckoning.

As a result, Arundell was able to return with no damage done to the scoreboard, with Bath changing four forwards in one swoop in an effort to increase their intensity, but it was the hosts who picked up the next score with a close-range try from Lahiff.

Jordan’s conversion put Bears in front for the first time in the match and despite late pressure and a last-minute missed kick from halfway from Santiago Carreras, they held on for a famous victory.

The scorers:

For Bristol:
Tries: Harding, penalty try, Lahiff
Cons: MacGinty, Jordan

For Bath:
Tries: Lawrence, Pepper, Du Toit
Cons: Donoghue 2

Bristol Bears: 15 Noah Heward, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 11 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Santiago Grondona, 7 Fitz Harding (c), 6 Joe Owen, 5 Joe Batley, 4 James Dun, 3 George Kloska, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Tomas Gwilliam, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Jimmy Halliwell, 20 George Taylor, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Tom Jordan, 23 Jack Bates

Bath: 15 Santi Carreras, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Max Ojomoh, 11 Henry Arundell, 10 Ciaran Donoghue, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Sam Underhill, 7 Guy Pepper, 6 Ethan Staddon, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Ted Hill, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Kepueli Tuipulotu, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Dan Frost, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Vilikesa Sela, 19 Ewan Richards, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Tom Carr-Smith, 22 Cameron Redpath, 23 Alfie Barbeary

Referee: Karl Dickson
Assistant Referees: Dan Jones, Jonathan Healy
TMO: Andrew Jackson

Source: AFP and PA