Bath hold off Worcester Warriors comeback

Bath held off Worcester Warriors second half comeback to win their Aviva Premiership match 32-20 at The Rec on Saturday.

Bath were looking to make it three wins on the bounce following back-to-back victories over Brive and Gloucester, while Worcester were seeking to bounce back following last week’s narrow home reverse against Exeter.

Worcester began the game the stronger and their territorial dominance was rewarded on 11 minutes, when Josh Drauniniu raced through the gap to score. Ryan Lamb was wide with the conversion attempt, and within 15 minutes the visitors were behind.

A towering penalty won yards for Bath, before some sharp work from Micky Young got the hosts over the line, for George Ford to convert. And within minutes Bath were able to extend their lead, when Ford broke through to create an opportunity for Horacio Agulla to score. Ford’s conversion made it 14-5, and they extended their lead on the stroke of half-time when Nick Abendanon benefited from some smart passing play to cross.

Ford’s penalty goal seven minutes into the second half to make it 22-5, and the signs looked ominous for Worcester, who’d struggled to create anything with the ball in hand since scoring their opening try.

But they hit back on 55 minutes through a converted Andy Symons try, before Chris Pennell’s penalty on the hour narrowed the gap further. Gavin Henson responded in kind for Bath three minutes later, but when Pennell exploited an overlap to score, it was game on. But the Bath defence stood resolute as the tension rose, and when Matt Banahan crossed with three minutes remaining it was game over.

Final Score Bath 32 (19) Worcester 20 (5)

Scorers

Bath
Tries: Young, Agulla, Abendanon, Banahan
Cons: Ford 3
Pens: Ford, Henson
Yellow card: Ford

Worcester
Tries: Drauniniu, Symons, Pennell
Con: Pennell
Pen: Pennell

Match Officials
Referee: Matthew Carley (13th Premiership game).
Assistant Referees: Peter Huckle and Paul Dix.
TMO: Rowan Kitt.

Teams

Bath

15. Nick Abendanon ,14. Anthony Watson,13. Matt Banahan,12. Kyle Eastmond,11. Horacio Agulla,10. George Ford,9. Micky Young,1. Nathan Catt,2. Rob Webber,3. David Wilson ,4. Stuart Hooper ( c ),5. Dave Attwood,6. Matt Garvey,7. Carl Fearns,8. Leroy Houston

Replacements:16. Ross Batty,17. Paul James,18. Anthony Perenise,19. Dominic Day,20. Guy Mercer,21. Peter Stringer,22. Gavin Henson,23. Jonathan Joseph

Warriors

15 Chris Pennell , 14 Josh Drauniniu , 13 Alex Grove , 12 Andy Symons , 11 David Lemi , 10 Ryan Lamb 9 Jonny Arr , 1 Ofa Fainga’anuku , 2 Agustin Creevy , 3 Euan Murray , 4 James Percival , 5 Mariano Galarza , 6 Mike Williams , 7 Sam Betty , 8 Jonathan Thomas (C)

Replacements , 16 Ed Shervington , 17 Paul Andrew , 18 Rob O’Donnell , 19 Semisi Taulava , 20 Richard de Carpentier , 21 Paul Hodgson , 22 Paul Warwick , 23 Ravai Fatiaki