Elation as leaders edged out
Team Bath held off a late comeback from old rivals Loughborough to edge out the BUCS Super Rugby leaders by a single point on a wet and windy Wednesday evening at the Sports Training Village.
The men’s 1st XV, sponsored by Bath Building Society, treated their hardy supporters to another strong display in challenging conditions as they went 36-21 up with ten minutes to go, Luca Mignot scoring 24 points and Bath Rugby Academy player Ethan Staddon notching an excellent try.
A succession of penalties allowed Loughborough back into the game, though, and they cut the gap to 36-35 before Team Bath held on during a nail-biting last few minutes to see out their fourth win from six games this season.
Aaron James, head of rugby at the University of Bath, said: “We’re elated, we’ve just beaten top-ofthe the-table Loughborough. It was a bit tight in the end but it caps off a great day for the rugby club. We had six teams playing here today and they all won.
“The conditions were awful but when you look at the final score, it shows the fantastic intent from both teams. They put us under real pressure at the end but that was because of us. We’ve just got to sort out our discipline.
“We take real confidence from winning four of the first six games, but there are some things we can sort out that will make us even better going into the next block of fixtures.”
They now have a couple of weeks off before visiting league newcomers Nottingham on Wednesday. They then return to the Sports Training Village the following week, November 23, to face Swansea – 6.30pm kick-off, free to watch.