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Bath Rugby 21 Newcastle Falcons 19: Player Ratings
Friday night Premiership rugby returned to the Rec this week, as Bath played host to Newcastle Falcons under the lights. Total Sport's Stephen Tred was watching from the stands, to provide his player ratings.
A nail biting finish at the Rec saw Bath frantically defend three attempted drop goals from Newcastle in the final few minutes. Bath's scrum suffered and was penalised numerous times by referee Tim Wigglesworth, whilst Newcastle played well and looked to have pulled off a shock victory. Down to 13 men at one point, Bath showed great resilience to grind out a victory and beat Newcastle Falcons 21 - 19 in what is a season of struggle for the West Country club.
Max Lahiff - 6 - Carried well in the loose, made a few impactful runs and showed his strength in defence. However the scrum was one of the main roots of Bath's problems. They were heavily penalised at scrum time meaning that the team were constantly fighting a losing battle against their penalty count. As part of that front row Lahiff came off second best against the Falcons, at least in the eyes of the ref. The match proved how crucial the scrum is to Bath's fluency and attacking potency.
Rob Webber - 7 - A performance that many didn't highlight after the match but it has to be said that Webber has been fantastic over the past few weeks. The line out was consistent again, offering Bath their most promising attacking platform. He threw well at the line out and was mobile in the loose, offering himself as a big ball carrier numerous times. Webber was also chucking himself about in defence, with big hit after big hit being put in against Newcastle.
David Wilson - 5 - Referee Tim Wigglesworth branded Wilson the culprit for the majority of Bath's infringements at scrum time. He appeared be on the wrong side of the referee and consistently being penalised at the scrum damaged Bath immensely, preventing them from gaining any momentum in the match. Although he carried well and was good in defence, the constant stream of penalties meant Wilson had to come off.
Stuart Hooper - 6 - Led from the front and offered Bath shed loads of experience in what was his 200th premiership start. Made a nuisance of himself when Newcastle were throwing into the line out and was part of a consistent Bath one. However he was penalised a few times for disrupting the Falcons driving maul illegally through changing his bind. This ultimately added to the teams constantly rising penalty count.
Dominic Day - 6 - Was part of a Bath pack who struggled at scrum time but were consistently solid at the line out. This did offer Bath a platform to attack from if they chose to kick it into touch but the scrum limited this slightly. Day was effective in the loose and managed to cover a lot of ground during the game. A presence in defence, Day did well to recover from what looked like an elbow to the face in the second half.
Matt Garvey - 7 - Numerous strong carries in the loose and made several dents in the Newcastle defence. Made a nuisance of himself around the breakdown and was again part of a line out that created a fantastic attacking platform for the Bath backs. Defended incredibly well during throughout the match and was part of a scramble defence that did well to keep Newcastle at bay in the second half. Garvey provides Bath with much needed grunt up front and showcased his strength throughout the match.
Francois Louw - 6 - A mixed game for Louw, with many arguing that he should have been sent off in the second half. The Springbok tried to clear former team mate Micky Young out of a ruck but did so through grappling the scrum half around the neck and throwing him to the ground, an act that could have seriously injured him. He was yellow carded for the incident but could be cited for it. He did however make a crucial steal late on into the game and set up Rokoduguni's try after breaking through the Newcastle defence. Louw drew the defender and passed out wide to Roko, who ran in to score his second.
Leroy Houston - 8 - Had tons of opportunities to run with the ball in hand and didn't fail to disappoint. Leroy gave Bath much needed go forward whenever he got the ball and was one of the teams most threatening attacking forces. Leroy also made some big hits in defence and was making a nuisance of himself in and around rucks. The Rec faithful were pleased to see him beaming from ear to ear after the match.
Chris Cook - 6 - Kicked capably and relieved pressure on his team numerous times with that massive left boot of his. When it was available he supplied quick ball to the backs and provided Bath with a good attacking tempo. Cook got stuck in as well, occasionally having to grapple for a ball that wasn't always protected at the base of rucks. In a furious last few minutes Cook also did well in managing to charge down an attempted Delany drop goal.
Ollie Devoto - 6 - Uacteristically Devoto's kicking game was the inconsistent aspect of his game. He looked threatening with the ball in hand and is a capable replacement at ten during the six nations however he does seem to better suit his usual position in the centres. His kicking out of hand looked slightly aimless however he did also put Bath in promising positions on occasion with some more measured kicks. When supplied quick ball the back line did produce some nice free flowing moves, this was of course in part due to Devoto who seems to have helped reawaken Bath's backs. He also set up Rokoduguni for his and Bath's first try of the night with an inventive cross field kick.
Jeff Williams - 6 - Although he wasn't given huge amounts of ball, Williams did look dangerous when he had it in hand. This was Williams' first Premiership start for Bath and he still seems to be finding his feet after switching from sevens at the start of the season. However his defence was solid and he looks to be threatening runner, with huge amounts of promise and potential.
Matt Banahan - 6 - Compared to his last few games this was a slightly quite game from Banners who spent most of his time defending. Although he did occasionally get his hands on the ball, Banahan wasn't given many opportunities to run at the Newcastle defence instead being used as a dummy runner. He did put in some trademark big hits and sent a few Falcons players backwards in the process.
Max Clark- 6 - Played very well throughout the match, especially in attack. For the first time this season Clark looked at home in the Bath back line, running some fantastic lines and occasionally breaking through the Falcons' defence. He defended well and seems to have developed an understanding with Banahan in the centres over the last month or so. Most importantly Clark showed superb commitment and acceleration to charge down an attempted drop goal from Delany in what was a frantic final few minutes.
Semesa Rokoduguni - 8 - Roko was absolutely superb throughout, scoring both Bath tries. The pick of the bunch being his first. Devoto put a cross field in Rokodugunis direction and with everyone expecting him to catch it he kicked it along the surface, collecting his own makeshift grabber kick he then went over to score. The try not only gave the team belief but ignited the crowd. His second was nicely finished after collecting a pass from Francois Louw who had broken through the Falcons defence. Roko was also strong in defence and looked threatening whenever he was running with ball in hand, it was just a shame that he came off after only 57 minutes. A deserved man of the match.
Tom Homer - 6 - Although solid at the back Homer didn't seem to make many inroads going forward. It is incredibly hard to replicate and replace the attacking talent of Anthony Watson and Homer still seems to be searching for his previous form at London Irish which made him such a feared attacker. He seemed to struggle to find many gaps whilst on the attack and couldn't seem to unlock the Falcons defence however he was solid at the back and tackled well, whilst also securing the match winning penalty kick.
Replacements
Nathan Catt - 6 - Came on for Lahiff after 59 minutes. It's good to see Catty back in a Bath shirt after the past few seasons have been so injury plagued. A fantastic front rower who just needs a run of game time and good luck, he played well when he came on and made his presence known in rucks and mauls. However the scrum was the main problem when it came to Bath's penalty woes and no substitutions were really able to alter this fact.
Henry Thomas - 7 - Came on for Wilson after 48 minutes but then came off again due to a yellow card. Thomas has been in fantastic form over the past few games and again made an instant impact, especially when carrying the ball in hand. Every time he was given the ball he was running onto it, which made such a notable difference. He was harshly yellow carded for a no-arm tackle in the second half but made up for it in his overall performance.
Charlie Ewels - 6 - Replaced Stuart Hooper with 17 minutes to go. Ewels didn't have a huge amount of time to make an impact but similarly to Thomas he was fantastic in the loose. Ewels made some great runs, again due to the fact that he was running onto the ball whenever he was fed it. He nearly scored late on when Bath were down to 13 men but was stopped just short. Another impressive game from the boy from Bournemouth.
Horacio Agulla - 6 - Came on for Rokoduguni after 57 minutes. Horacio played well and although it was a shame to see Roko come off so early Agulla was a more than capable replacement. A strong ball carrier, Agulla punched a few holes in the Falcons defence and showed slick handling at times. He also defended well, especially in what was a frantic final few minutes.
Tom Dunn - Not Used
Guy Mercer - Not used
Jonathan Evans - Not used
Will Homer - Not Used
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