Second painful loss to begin season
Bath suffered a second painful defeat in two weeks as they went down 20-13 to the Newcastle Falcons at The Recreation Ground.
A lack of first-half discipline and attacking creativity cost the Blue, Black and Whites for the second week running as they found themselves down 20-3 at the halfway stage. However, it was not all doom and gloom for Stuart Hooper’s men, who showcased a promising young half back pairing and a fantastic performance on both sides of the ball in the second 40 minutes.
The Blue, Black and Whites were given the opportunity to flex their defensive muscles early, successfully defending on their own tryline for a sustained period, but the attacking pressure would eventually prove too much as the speed of Falcons’ winger Adam Radwan put the visitors up by five.
Will Haydon-wood extended the lead to five points with a penalty minutes later, before Orlando Bailey responded with one of his own to put Bath on the board.
After the responsibility of taking on the win-or-lose kick after the timer had gone dead last week, it would be understandable if the 19-year-old would carry the weight of disappointment, but he did no such thing, demonstrating a promising half-back pairing with fellow youngster Ollie Fox.
The Falcons, however, would widen the gap with a brace of tries in the final five minutes of the first half, with Iwan Stephens touching it down in the corner, before George Mcguigan barrelled over the line just before the half time whistle.
The story of the half for Stuart Hooper’s men was the lack of backline attacking ball, recurring issues at scrum-time, and their only increasing injury problems, with England international Sam Underhill being replaced in the opening minutes in the latest of a series of worrying injuries facing the Blue, Black and White.
Bath came out of the blocks in the second half looking far more comfortable and ambitious in attack, as Max Ojomoh proved to be the catalyst of the Blue, Black and Whites’ improvements following the interval, as repeated breaks set The Rec alight.
Bath’s patience would at last be rewarded as the game reached its final ten minutes, as Ojomoh touched down for a much-deserved try, before Bailey’s conversion would set the Rec up for yet another tense conclusion. Despite flashes of brilliance in the Falcons’ half in the closing minutes, the deficit would prove to be too much to overcome, with Bath once again defeated despite an encouraging second half showing that concluded with a close-range Orlando Bailey penalty to give the team another richlydeserved bonus point.
While there are undeniable positives, Bath will undoubtedly continue to focus on improving discipline and ensuring there is less pressure on a second half point chase down. The side will now look ahead to a Friday-night clash under the lights with Premiership runners up Bristol Bears at Ashton Gate, who are also in great need of some points after losses to Saracens and London Wasps sees them occupying the bottom spot of the table.