Horror show for Bath as they finish bottom
HEAD coach Neal Hatley declared it a “horrific” afternoon for Bath as the former champions of Europe conceded 33 secondhalf points to finish bottom of the table.
A party atmosphere descended on Sixways at the final whistle, as families and fans mingled with Worcester players who had served up a riot of secondhalf attacking rugby, culminating in a hat-trick for Jamie Shillcock.
It is a summer of change for the Warriors, who will not have stalwarts Niall Annett, Sam Lewis and Ethan Waller on their roster next year, all of whom have made more than 100 appearances for the Warriors. But they were sent on their way in some style, as was director of rugby Alan Solomons, who retires after more than half a century in the game.
Steve Diamond, who steps up from lead rugby consultant to succeed Solomons, declared that his side will be gunning for a place at Europe’s top table just as soon as they can.
Diamond said: “We’re going for the Heineken Cup, that’s the competition we want to be in. We want to be playing the big sides.”
It was a match that encapsulated many of Bath’s failings this season. There were bursts of illdiscipline and a defensive capitulation. Yes, Worcester pieced together some glorious tries – not least through the wing wizardry of Duhan van der Merwe – but to ship more than 30 points in a single half when the wooden spoon was looming was something that Hatley admitted was painful.
“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 allow where you finish.”
Eight years ago Bath reached the Premiership final, but since then the millions that owner Bruce Craig has pumped into the club, not least in developing
their salubrious Farleigh House headquarters in the Somerset countryside, have not prevented the club from tripping down the league ladder.
“There are some great coaches coming in next season, but as a group we need to do better than we did today,” said Hatley.
Worcester battered their way to their first score, Kyle Hatherell muscling over as Bath’s season-long habit of conceding penalties continued. Bath gained a foothold in the match through their scrum and Will Muir showed poise to gather Orlando Bailey’s crosskick for his first.
A minute later Worcester skipper Ted Hill was sin-binned as his team gave away five penalties in quick succession. A horrible shanked kick by Van der Merwe put Worcester under further pressure, and lax defending allowed Muir to snake through for his second.
More defensive wobbles enabled Will Stuart to weave over from almost 30m out, and with a 19-10 half-time lead Bath looked comfortable. But the second half was to prove a different matter.
Gareth Simpson got the ball rolling for the hosts when he applied the gloss to an end-to-end move. Tom Dunn rumbled down the shortside for a bonuspoint score for Bath, but that was as cheerful as things got for the West Country side.
Shillcock began to cut through the Bath line, assisted by some superb work from Van der Merwe for his hat-trick moment, and Joe Batley’s chargedown try added another bruise to Bath’s crumbling confidence. A yellow card for Bath captain Charlie Ewels for a high challenge just about captured a miserable half, a miserable day and a miserable season for Bath.