Bath Time Blues
By Falcon1
November 17 2002
Last week Steve Bates apologised to the travelling fans for the Falcons' performance. This week it was left to Man of the Match Hugh Vyvyan to apologise for a first half performance that earned the team a b********g, and to promise that the team would 'go back to the drawing board and sort it out'.
They need to. As a result of this debacle Falcons drop below Bath and reside in tenth place, resting above two teams to whom they have lost in the past few weeks.
There was a degree of nervousness amongst both sets of supporters before the game, with few expressing any confidence in predicting the outcome. The general feeling was that whichever side won would escape the basement zone, whichever lost would move into a battle against relegation.
Amongst Falcons supporters there was also concern about some of the selection decisions forced on Messrs Andrew and Bates due to the unavailability of a number of players – in particular the return of Epi to the back row and the defensive capabilities of Shaw at full back.
As a result of international commitments, Falcons were without Wilkinson and Grimes whilst Bath were missing Tindall and Maggs. In addition Walder, Richardson, Brotherstone and Arnold continue to be unavailable for selection for the Falcons due to injury. In contrast, Bath were able to welcome back from injury two experienced international players – Mike Catt and Matt Perry. None of this, however, can justify the poor performance witnessed by 4,532 spectators on a cold and dark afternoon.
The first half...
It took less than two minutes for Bath to score a try. Andy Williams effortlessly stepped through the non-existent defence to touch down. Perry was probably as surprised as everyone by the ease with which Bath had scored, because he missed the conversion.
A few minutes later and Perry had recovered his composure to kick over a penalty from 40 metres out. Va’a got a penalty for the Falcons, after which Chris Malone and Matt Perry increased Bath’s lead with three penalties in ten minutes so that after half an hour Bath were leading 17 –3.
Tom May then salvaged a drop goal after an attempt to breach the Bath defensive line had been resisted, only to see Bath immediately respond with a second try, scored by Voyce on the right wing. The conversion by Malone was awarded (although those of us in the West Stand were convinced that it drifted past the outside of the right hand post) and although Va’a was able to land two more penalties, the Falcons went in at half time trailing 24 – 12.
At half time we got to see the best rugby of the afternoon: the junior tag rugby teams showed determination, skill and speed – all things missing from the Falcons’ performance prior to the break.
The second half...
It was soon clear that words had been said at half-time.
The Falcons launched straight into attack from the restart and Bath were forced to infringe to kill play, resulting in another penalty kicked by Va’a. There followed a period in which the Falcons applied sustained pressure. Stephenson, May and Taione combined well but eventually ran out of space.
Finally, midway through the second half, the pressure paid off and Taione and Botham assisted Shaw to go over in the left corner. The conversion attempt by Va’a from on the touchline reached the goal only to bounce back off the crossbar, but the Falcons were back in the game trailing 20 – 24.
As in previous weeks, the Falcons enjoyed their best period of play in the final quarter of the game. Disciplined defence by Bath held the Falcons at bay through an extended period of added time and neither side scored again.
The game ended Newcastle Falcons 20 Bath 24.
The last time these sides met at Kingston Park, the Falcons won thanks to a second half storm: after a closely contested first half ended 10-9, they ran in four second half tries to win 36-9. This time the Falcons forgot to turn up for the first half, by which time Bath – without playing particularly well - had inflicted enough damage to secure their second away win of the season and move away from the bottom of the Table.
Messrs Andrew, Bates and Blades will have much to ponder before the trip to Saracens and the return visit of Bristol. I wish them well.
| Falcons starting line up |
Bath starting line up |
|
|
| 15
Joe Shaw |
15
Matt Perry |
| 14
Liam Botham |
14
Simon Danielli |
| 13
Jamie Noon |
13
Spencer Davey |
| 12
Tom May |
12
Alex Crockett |
| 11
Michael Stephenson |
11
Tom Voyce |
| 10
Earl Va’a |
10
Mike Catt |
| 9
Hall Charlton |
9
Andy Williams |
| 1
Micky Ward |
1
Dave Barnes |
| 2
Nick Makin |
2
Jonathan Humphreys |
| 3
Marius Hurter |
3
John Mallett |
| 4
Craig Hamilton |
4
Steve Borthwick |
| 5
Hugh Vyvyan (Captain) |
5
Dan Lyle |
| 6
Epi Taione |
6
James Scaysbrook |
| 7
Rob Devonshire |
7
Andy Beattie |
| 8
Jon Dunbar |
8
Nathan Thomas |
