MATCH REPORT: Bath Rugby 21 Exeter Chiefs 16
George Ford produced a faultless kicking display to boot Bath Rugby to victory in a pulsating Aviva Premiership derby against Exeter Chiefs at The Rec.
The home fly-half landed six from six from the tee and added a drop goal for good measure as Bath extended their winning run to eight games in all competitions.
Exeter can feel extremely hard done by in defeat as they impressed for long periods. Second-rows Damian Welch and Dean Mumm both got over the whitewash for the visitors but it was not enough to deny Bath.
The victory was a further boost to Bath's Premiership play-off credentials. They remain third in the table ahead of the next break for European fixtures of the coming fortnight.
Fly-halves Gareth Steenson and Ford traded penalties in the opening ten minutes but Chiefs had much the better of the first half.
The visitors had plenty of territory and were on the attack for lengthy periods as too many errors crept into Bath's play.
After continuing to threaten, Chiefs got themselves over the whitewash midway through the half. Bath were unable to keep hold of possession in Exeter territory and the visitors returned it all the way to the tryline.
Matt Jess burst up the centre of the pitch and found Damian Welch on the wing, and he finished the attack with aplomb.
The giant second row powered through scrum-half Peter Stringer's initial tackle and there was no stopping him as he charged 20m to the line, despite the last-gasp efforts of Anthony Watson. Steenson's conversion from out wide drifted past the posts.
Ford immediately reduced the deficit to two points with another penalty but Bath had to rely on excellent defensive work to keep further Chiefs skirmishes at bay, while their own ventures towards the tryline were scuppered by handling errors.
With the hosts seemingly destined to trail at the break, Ford produced a wonder kick to get them off the hook. Chiefs conceded a penalty just inside their own half and the Bath ten nailed an absolute cracker straight through the posts to send his side into the changing rooms one point ahead.
Whatever the Bath coaching team said to their troops at the interval seemed to work and the hosts were much improved after the restart.
They laid siege to the Chiefs line in an excellent opening spell but again missed out on an elusive try. They instead had to settle for a fourth Ford penalty to extend their advantage.
Bath soon fell behind again, however, with Exeter benefitting from a moment of good fortune. The ball went loose deep in Bath territory, centre Phil Dollman punted forward and skipper Mumm beat Jonathan Joseph in the race to the line. Steenson's conversion came back off the posts.
Ford continued his one-man masterpiece when he restored Bath's lead with a belting penalty from the halfway line before extending it with a brilliant drop goal from 30m as the visitors' defence began to creak.
Steenson hit straight back with a penalty and Bath breathed a huge sigh of relief when a second kick from the Chiefs ten drifted just wide soon afterwards.
The battle of the fly-halves continued to the final whistle and Ford made Steenson pay for his error with a sixth penalty after a charging run by Matt Banahan up the wing, pushing Bath's lead to five points with five minutes to play.
Chiefs tried to rally themselves for one last assault but, when they were penalised deep in Bath territory, Ford was able to boot the ball into the joyous home supporters to bring a cracking contest to a close.BATH RUGBY: Watson (Abendanon 8-17), Agulla, Joseph (Abendanon 69), Devoto (Heathcote 75), Banahan, Ford, Stringer (Roberts 74), Catt (James 46), Webber (Batty 60), Wilson (Perenise 63), Day (Caldwell 54), Attwood, Garvey (Fearns 24-29), Louw (c), Houston (Fearns 54-66, 69).Penalties: Ford 6 Drop goal: FordEXETER CHIEFS: Arscott, Nowell, Dollman, Shoemark (Whitten 59), Jess, Steenson, Lewis (Thomas 69), Moon, Yeandle (Whitehead 54-69), Tui (Brown 54), Mumm (c), Welch, Johnson, White (Horstmann 69), Ewers. Replacements not used: Sturgess, Armand, Slade.Tries: Welch, Mumm Penalties: Steenson 2Referee: Matthew CarleyAttendance: 12,200
