Coach Hatley laments Bath’s ‘horrific’ season

BATH head coach Neal Hatley admitted that defeat at Worcester on the final day of the Gallagher Premiership regular campaign was symptomatic of a “horrific” season for his rock-bottom side, writes Alan Brown.

The result saw the Warriors leapfrog their visitors and consigned the Blue, Black & Whites to the foot of the table, with Jamie Shillcock’s hat-trick leading the way for the Sixways outfit.

Bath led 19-10 at the break, but a turnaround afterwards prompted an 18th defeat of an instantlyforgettable campaign which Hatley is determined to put behind him.

“It’s horrific,” he said. “We’re so much better than that, but you get what you deserve. If you’re in such control and then blow it, then you have to accept where you finish.

“To be 19-10 going in, I didn’t see them getting back in the game, our drive was all over them. But our discipline cost us. We go from complete control to conceding a penalty, a yellow card and a try from there. Our discipline let them back into the game.

“The most frustrating thing is we said that at half-time and we haven’t delivered it. There are moments in games where we look really good, and then we unravel everything with poor discipline.”

Will Muir’s double and a try from Will Stuart had put the visitors into

WORCESTER WARRIORS 43 BATH RUGBY ................... 27

a promising position at the break, Bath responding well to Kyle Hatherell’s early score.

But Gareth Simpson, Joe Batley and a treble from the rampant Shillcock saw the tables turned after the break, while Bath skipper Charlie Ewels was sent to the sinbin, leaving plenty in incoming Bath head coach Johann Van Graan’s in tray.

“There are some great coaches coming in, but as a group we need to do better than we did today. That’s not going to change with the wave of a wand,” added Hatley, who will return to being the club’s forwards coach next season.

Worcester: Shillcock; Humphreys, Venter, Beck, Van Der Merwe; F Smith, Simpson; Sutherland, Annett, Judge, Batley, G Kitchener, Hatherell, Lewis, Hill. Replacements: Heward for Shillcock (78), Hearle for Venter (65), Chudley for Simpson (70), Waller for Sutherland (65), Miller for Annett (72), McCallum for Judge (65), A Kitchener for Batley (70), Dodd for Lewis (65).

Scorers – Tries: Hatherell, Simpson, Shillcock 3, Batley. Cons: F Smith 5. Pens: F Smith.

Sin Bin: Hill (22).

Bath: De Glanville; Cokanasiga, Joseph, Ojomoh, Muir; Bailey, B Spencer; Obano, Dunn, Stuart, Richards, Ewels, Coetzee, Underhill, Faletau. Replacements: Reid for Coetzee (54), Du Toit for Dunn (62), Morozov for Obano (63), Hamer-Webb for Muir (63), Williams for Richards (68), Fia for Stuart (72), Green for Spencer (78). Not Used: Cipriani.

Scorers – Tries: Muir 2, Stuart, Dunn. Cons:

2. Pens: Bailey.

Sin Bin: Ewels (58).

Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe (RFU).

Bailey