Northampton v Bath
21st September 2002

From the outset Bath were required to be strong defensively. Still a relatively unknown quantity in the Premiership, Oriol Ripol was quick to let Bath know why comparisons with Jason Robinson are rife.

By the eighth minute the Spaniard had already danced through the Bath defence for the first try, converted by Paul Grayson; the Saints were starting as they meant to go on.

Minutes later, Ripol was off again, sprinting down the wing so fast he didn’t hear referee David McHugh’s whistle for a forward pass. Neither did the Bath backs and for a time it appeared that two games were taking place simultaneously. 

Regardless of the whistle, Ripol would have been denied his second try thanks to a thumping Mike Tindall tackle just short of the line.

Peter Jorgensen started in place of Jon Sleightholme and didn’t take long to make his mark on the scoreboard. 22 minutes in fact. Grayson missed the conversion.

Bath were under pressure for much of the first half but crucially they didn’t panic, putting off Northampton gaining the try bonus that for a while looked like a certainty by the 30 minute mark.

To say Bath didn’t create any chances would be unfair. Danny Grewcock for example showed that he’s mentally tough enough to put off-field events out of his mind and concentrate on more pressing matters. He made a break, supported by Alex Crockett and Tom Voyce. When Nick Beal knocked on and Bath were given a scrum 10 metres in front of the posts, it didn’t look like such one-way traffic. Until the scrum was won against the head.

Gareth Cooper too looked to have been through, but for a flailing tap tackle. Olly Barkley saved Bath from going in at the break red-faced and point-less with a penalty kick from 47 metres. Shortly after half time he missed his only other shot of the day.

As is becoming customary this season, Bath came out strongly after the interval. A break by Chris Malone led to several phases in the Saints’ 22, but their commitment to defence equalled that of attack and Bath were forced to come away without a score.

A less endearing habit that Bath again showed was that of not playing the full 80 minutes with 15 men. Mike Tindall was the guilty party this week, sent to the sin bin for a deliberate knock-on. Fortunately, Bath were not outnumbered for long as Robbie Morris soon followed him, his offence deliberate off-side.

80 minutes loomed and while Bath hadn’t made a comeback in the style of the Wasps game, they appeared to have denied Saints any more chances for tries and consequently the bonus point. Cue Ben Cohen. The England Wing had had a relatively quiet afternoon until the 79th minute when, not to be forgotten, he crashed over in the corner to make it four.

Bath had long since lost the chance to claim a point for a narrow defeat and are left now to take the positives (and there were plenty, particularly in the second half) home in preparation for “the Big One” against Gloucester next week.

Rowen Whittle