Winless Bath hit by red card blow

Bath suffered their sixth loss on the trot as their winless start to the Gallagher Premiership season continues following a 27-17 defeat to Wasps at The Rec on Saturday.

The early dismissal of Mike Williams in the 46th minute following a clear out that contacted Jimmy Gopperth’s head proved to be the catalyst in Bath’s unfortunate streak continuing, with Bath director of rugby Stuart Hooper stating “we were in the contest until the red card, which obviously made things very challenging.”

Despite an encouraging start to the game, the home side went behind early following a lack of organisation in the reception of the high ball in their 22, with Josh Bassett reclaiming the ball before Vaea Fifita brushed past a weak tackle attempt from Semesa Rokoduguni to put the visitors ahead.

Following some breaks that put Wasps on the back foot Max Clark’s short pass in the midfield to the storming Tom de Glanville sent the full-back clear before outpacing Jacob Umaga in a race to the line.

Jimmy Gopperth was steadfast from the tee, with his late penalty being the only thing separating the two sides in what was a competitive first half.

Bath exhibited forward pressure in the second half with two tries ruled out by the television match official, but a red card for Mike Williams following a nasty clear-out to the head of Jimmy Gopperth made a first win of the season for the Blue, Black and Whites an uphill battle.

Wasps responded in quick fashion as Gabriel Oghre found a gap from short range to extend his side’s lead before the visitors put the game beyond reach with a Tom Willis pick-and-drive in the closing minutes.

The Rec received a consolation try after Rokoduguni did well to receive and then finish following a Jonathan Joseph cross-field kick, but it was too little, too late for Hooper’s men.

The defeat, Bath’s sixth on the bounce, with the side yet to record a victory this campaign in their now extended worst start in their Premiership history.

Discussing the defeat, Hooper said: “We didn’t take opportunities well, we got over the try line twice and didn’t score, and then there was a big swing in the game.

“Ultimately we were a bit inaccurate.

“In the moments where we could have capitalised on pressure we were inaccurate and didn’t apply pressure on them.

“As ever the fight from the lads was outstanding, but you can’t have fleeting moments in the Premiership, you have to knit it together and apply pressure, and that’s not what we’re doing.”

(On Williams’ red card) “I think when the referee sees an injury and then see someone coming in from a distance you’re always gonna be up against it.

“The discipline has a massive impact on the game, because when you go down to 14 men you raise the likelihood of a yellow card because you’re scrapping for everything, and that’s what happened with Josh [Bayliss, who picked up a second-half yellow card].”

Despite the result, Hooper saw there was room for optimism after some strong individual performances, with Tom de Glanville justifiably receiving praise.

“He had a great game from fullback, he came into the line well and he showed great composure to finish.”

Ahead of the visit to the undefeated, league-leading Leicester Tigers on Friday, Hooper kept his cards close to his chest in terms of potential strategic changes in the coming days.

“Leicester’s obviously a very different team to play against than Wasps, we’ve done our work on them and there’ll be a few different ways to play against them for sure.”

The Blue, Black and Whites will visit Welford Road tomorrow night as the potential of an underdog story teases them in ending Tigers’ unbeaten start