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| Saturday 14 April 2001 | Clifton Lane |
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Weather - Bitterly Cold
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Referee: Steve Leyshon..........................Match report:Russel Gibbs
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| Tom Voyce and Rob Thirlby both ran in hat tricks as Bath annihilated hapless Rotherham at a cold Clifton Lane. The first half was a massacre as the West Countrymen ran in seven tries, securing a bonus point as early as the 19th minute, to lead at the interval by the incredible scoreline of 51-0. The feast of tries didn’t stop there either as Bath ran in a further three scores to end the match with ten tries to their name and a home quarter final in the end of season Zurich Premiership Play Offs. For their first ever visit to Rotherham, Bath made several changes to the side that had grafted out a hard fought win against their local rivals Bristol the last time out. Rob Thirlby was recalled to the wing in place of the rested Iain Balshaw, while Shaun Berne made a start at centre in place of the injured Kevin Maggs. Up front the pack was re-shuffled once more with David Barnes, Andy Long, Nathan Thomas and Angus Gardiner all reclaiming spots in the starting XV. Rotherham included former Bath players Michael Wood and Charlie Harrison in the team with flanker Russell Earnshaw on the bench. It took Bath just 45 seconds to signal their intent as they scored from their first wave of attack. From a line out claimed by Mark Gabey, Gareth Cooper and Tom Voyce combined up the middle to draw in the cover. The ball was re-cycled and Angus Gardiner threw out an American football style pass to the wing, where Rob Thirlby gathered the ball on the bounce to show his pace and cross in the corner. In a gusting wind Matt Perry’s conversion attempt hit the upright. The early try set the tone for the encounter and eight minutes later Bath crossed again. Cooper found Nathan Thomas as Bath stretched the Rotherham defence, before Perry gave Voyce the scoring pass, the left winger cutting in off the right flank for a simple run in. Perry converted and then added a penalty to take Bath 15-0 ahead. The points kept on coming as Gabey tore through a bemused defence, looping out a pass to the waiting Shaun Berne. The Australian took the ball one handed before running away from the chasing defence to touch down, a try which Perry converted. Unbelievably, the bonus point was secured inside the 20th minute as Bath ran riot. Cooper was the scorer this time, spotting a clear gap after picking up from the base of a ruck close to the posts, to dart over for the fourth try. Perry converted and barely sixty seconds later repeated the feat as yet another try was registered sending the noisy Bath contingent in the crowd into a state of almost disbelief. Cooper’s penetrating box kick was taken on the bounce by the marauding Dan Lyle and the number eight popped off the pass to the supporting Thirlby who gleefully galloped over for his second of the match. There was no let up for the home team as wave upon wave of Bath attacks bore down on a beleaguered Yorkshire rearguard. Sensing blood, Bath went for the jugular. From Berne’s electric break, Mike Catt was on hand to ship a pass out to Voyce and the young winger, in such prolific form for club and country, didn’t need a second invitation to score. Voyce, one of the successes for Bath this season, ran in his hat trick try a minute later, taking his tally to 10 for the campaign, after Cooper had once more caught Rotherham on the back foot from a quickly taken tap penalty. Perry converted and added his second penalty of the half in first half stoppage time to send Bath beyond the half century of points at the interval. Half Time: Rotherham 0 Bath Rugby 51 Bath started the second half as they had ended the first, scoring tries. Rotherham had come out with a positive attitude and fought their way into Bath territory. However, a mistake in midfield, a dropped pass, enabled Sam Cox to pick up inside his 22. The centre ruthlessly exposed the error, racing eighty metres and handing off full back Martin Dawson in the process for his maiden senior try. To their immense credit, Rotherham never gave up and their sheer grit and determination coupled with some superb phases of play was rewarded with a try of their own. With Mark Gabey in the sin bin, Bath were stretched out wide and after cleverly creating the overlap, flanker Mike Schmid took a pass to dive over in the far corner. Michael Umaga’s conversion was immaculate to reduce the score to 7-56. Bath were in no mood to ease off though and after 55 minutes ran in the ninth try. After pummelling the Rotherham line, Bath switched the ball wide and Thirlby raced in to complete his first hat trick for Bath. Three minutes elapsed, during which time club captain Ben Clarke entered the fray, before what was to prove to be Bath’s final try arrived. Again, it came from an error by the hosts, who turned over ball in midfield. Bath made them pay as Catt and Lyle interchanged passes to free Berne who had a free run in from half way to cross for his 10th try of the season, an excellent return. Perry’s conversion, taking his personal haul to 18 points, pushed Bath 68-7 ahead. Fittingly perhaps, it was Rotherham, on their last appearance in the Premiership, who had the final word. Ironically, it was former Bath man Michael Wood who had the honour of scoring their final Premiership try of the season, scampering away down the wing to universal acclaim. For Bath it was a minor blemish on an afternoon where the strength in depth of the squad was tested – a test that was passed with flying colours, as Bath came away from Clifton Lane with a new club record victory for an away encounter in the top flight. TEAM: Perry (Adebayo 78), Thirlby, Berne (De Glanville 63), Cox, Voyce, Catt, Cooper (Preston 63), Barnes, Long, Mallett, Gabey (Emms 80), Borthwick (Lloyd 63), Gardiner (Clarke 57), N. Thomas (Regan 80), Lyle POINTS: Tries: Rob Thirlby (3), Tom Voyce (3), Shaun Berne (2), Gareth Cooper, Sam Cox Cons: Matt Perry (6) Pens: Matt Perry (2) |
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