Bath finish pool in style with seven-try win in Italy
BATH were left with major European regrets as they slipped sadly and painfully out of the Champions Cup after going on a seven-try romp in Treviso.
Todd Blackadder’s men produced a fast, frantic and thrilling performance in trying to give themselves an outside chance of keeping their dreams alive.
Unfortunately, it was not enough to save them from an early exit with Scarlets 30-27 victory over Toulon at Parc y Scarlets meaning both those teams finished above the English outfit in Pool 5.
Bath end up with 18 points, one behind second placed Toulon, courtesy of this bonus point win but travelled back knowing the previous week’s defeat to Scarlets proved costly in the end.
And a dejected Blackadder admitted: “It’s very disappointing. The players did their part but the result at Scarlets was always going to be close and we just hoped for the best. It’s a setback for us, but we have a very strong set of characters here and we simply have to take it on the chin and do well in the other competitions.”
Bath’s mission had been a simple one – win by as many points as possible and hope things went their way in west Wales. They raced into a 35-7 half-time lead with an all-out attacking mind-set.
Freddie Burns’ blunder allowed the hosts to take the lead. He failed to make an easy catch when Luca Sperandio chipped through as Benetton applied the pressure.
Sperandio caught the rebound and raced over with Tommy Allan converting for a 7-0 lead. Yet, Bath responded so positively they had the try bonus in the bag before the break.
They hit straight back from the kick-off with their forwards pushing Benetton back towards their line. Hooker Tom Dunn was helped by two team-mates as he barrelled his way across and Burns levelled things with the conversion.
The Bath pack applied more meat and muscle to push forward towards their rivals’ line and French referee Pascal Gauzere eventually awarded a penalty try.
Matt Banahan strolled over for the third try when another Bath attack stretched the Benetton defence. Burns converted.
Jonathan Joseph carved his way through for the fifth try on the stroke of half-time, showing he is in good form for the Six Nations.
Bath, however, were rocked in a seven-minute spell after the restart when their defence crumbled.
They were caught cold by Benetton and flanker Sebastian Negri forced his way over for a converted try.
Moments later poor handling in midfield saw centre Tomasso Benvenuti pounce for the loose ball and race half the length of the field for another converted try.
But Zach Mercer, hoping to get the nod from Eddie Jones to start against Italy, powered his way over the line for a converted Bath try from a rolling maul.
Luke Charteris crashed over late for Bath, a rare try indeed for the tall Welshman while Benetton's Monty Ioane used his speed and strength to just touch the ball down in time in the left hand corner.