Bath hold on against Edinburgh at the Rec

Bath picked up their first pool win of their Heineken Cup campaign as they beat Edinburgh 16-9 after a nailbiting finish at the Recreation Ground.

They still have a small chance of qualifying for the quarter finals after they scored two tries through hooker Peter Dixon and wing Michael Stephenson. Fijian flyhalf Nicky Little kicked two penalties, while Chris Paterson kicked three for Edinburgh.

The return match will be in Scotland next weekend, and Steve Meehan’s Bath side will know that they have the slimmest of chances and need to make that count.

"It gives us a chance, a sniff," he said. "It's great to be travelling to Edinburgh at the end of this week with an opportunity. Conditions being fine, you'd expect another entertaining game.

"We made a terrific start. There was great intent from the guys and we want to see more of that. The win is very important from the squad's point of view especially as we have a number of players unavailable.

"It's terrific to see the effort transferred from the training field to the pitch. But it's very important that it is maintained."

Man of the Match Luke Watson was impressive for his new club, and naturally delighted with the win. "The morale has been great since I got here. It's very much about the team, not the individual.

"Watching the games from South Africa, I was feeling very frustrated for the boys. There's a great team spirit and unity, people pulling hard for the Bath badge."

The match ended with Edinburgh pushing hard at the line for phase after phase before the ball was eventually turned over, allowing Bath to kick it out.

Bizarrely, skipper Michael Claassens threw the ball directly into touch, conceding yet another penalty under the posts. Edinburgh weren’t able to take advantage and snatch the draw though, and game ended with Bath breathing a sigh of relief.


Time: 05:04

Share

Tweet