Bath stumble at the third hurdle
Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:46
European Challenge Cup champions Bath failed to complete a treble of pre-season friendly victories over Celtic sides, as they went down 8-19 to Edinburgh at the Rec on Friday.
Bath got off to a great start. A good Bath move saw Joe Maddock make a run down the right hand side of the pitch and jink his way past the opposition defence before popping the ball to Nick Abendanon, who then used his pace to take him over the tryline and score. Shaun Berne was unable to convert this time round, but in the 17th minute he slotted a penalty to give Bath an 8-0 lead.
Bath went down to 14 men briefly after Jonny Faamatuainu was sin-binned for an infringement. Bath then nearly scored in the 32nd after a kick and chase by Andrew Higgins saw Edinburgh just being able to prevent Bath from scoring, as players from both side scrambled to put the ball down over the try line.
The rest of the half belonged to the boot of Edinburgh fullback Chris Paterson, who hit three successful penalties to give the visitors a 9-8 lead going into the break.
Six minutes in the new half and with Bath pressing the Edinburgh line, a Michael Claassens fumble saw Edinburgh substitute David Callum kick the ball ahead and use impressive ball control to subsequently take the ball 60 metres or so down the pitch, before wing Simon Webster collected it and scored.
In the 57th minute, Edinburgh captain David Blair created the final score of the match when he made a good break which ultimately resulted in a Steven Turnbull score. Paterson missed the penalty but Edinburgh led 19-8.
The biggest cheer of the match was left for Bath substitute Matt Banahan when his first touch of the ball saw him make significant yardage before a number of Edinburgh defenders were able to bring him down. However more Bath possession did not result in more points on the scoreboard and Edinburgh took the honours.
Scorers:
For
Bath:
Try: Abendanon
Pen: Berne
For Edinburgh:
Tries: Turnbull, Webster
Pens: Paterson 3
Teams:
Bath: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Joe Maddock, 13 Shontayne Hape, 12 Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, 11 Andrew Higgins, 10 Shaun Berne, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Jonny Faamatuainu, 7 Michael Lipman (captain), 6 Stuart Hooper, 5 Peter Short, 4 Justin Harrison, 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Lee Mears, 1 David Barnes.
Replacements - from: Pieter Dixon, Duncan Bell, David Flatman, Josh Ovens, James Scaysbrook, Scott Bemand, Tom Cheeseman, Matt Banahan, Rhys Crane, Jack Cuthbert.
Edinburgh: 15 Chris Paterson, 14 Mark Robertson, 13 Calum MacRae, 12 Nick De Luca, 11 Simon Webster, 10 Phil Godman, 9 Mike Blair (captain), 8 Allister Hogg, 7 Alan MacDonald, 6 Scott Newlands, 5 Craig Hamilton, 4 Matt Mustchin, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan
Jacobsen.
Replacements - from: Andrew Kelly, Ryan Grant, Steve Turnbull, David Callam, Greig Laidlaw, David Blair, Hugo Southwell, Andrew Turnbull, Andrew Easson, Kyle Traynor.
