MATCH REPORT: Wasps 29 Bath Rugby 22
Bath Rugby were made to pay for an ill-disciplined display as their brave fightback came up short on the trip to Wasps in the Aviva Premiership on Sunday.
The visitors had Leroy Houston, Davey Wilson and Micky Young all sent to the sin-bin at Adams Park and Wasps took control to build up a 29-0 lead after 50 minutes.
But Bath battled back in impressive fashion and tries from Jonathan Joseph, Young and David Sisi saw them climb within losing bonus point territory, although their efforts to snatch a draw went unrewarded.
The defeat is Bath's second in the opening block of six Premiership games and sees them drop to fourth in the table before the first break for European fixtures.
Bath were over the whitewash inside five minutes when fly-half George Ford released centre Kyle Eastmond midway inside the Wasps half but the score was ruled out for crossing, with lock Dave Attwood deemed to have blocked a home tackler.
Wasps heeded the warning and swiftly grabbed the first points of the afternoon when Bath winger Semesa Rokoduguni was penalised in his own half. Home fly-half Andy Goode split the posts from 30m.
The home side continued on the front foot and frequently got the better of the set-piece and the breakdown. They eventually doubled the advantage midway through the half when Bath again infringed in their own territory and Goode was on hand to fire over the penalty.
Wasps then got over the tryline as winger Sailosi Tagicakibau collected a clever grubber from full-back Andrea Masi in the Bath 22 but a combination of Anthony Watson and Gavin Henson prevented him from grounding the ball.
Number eight Nathan Hughes also got over the whitewash off the back of the resulting scrum but opposite number Leroy Houston did just enough to ensure he was held up.
The hosts continued to lay siege to the Bath line with a succession of 5m scrums but butchered the chance for the opening try of the afternoon. Masi found himself in acres of space on the left but Goode's crossfield chip was poor and sailed into touch.
Goode swiftly made amends, however, as he landed a third penalty of the half following more indiscipline from Bath inside their own territory.
The mountain facing the visitors got even steeper two minutes before the break when Houston was sent to the sin-bin for a tip-tackled on Wasps scrum-half Joe Simpson.
And the hosts were able to increase their advantage to 12-0 before the interval when centre Elliot Daly landed a monster penalty from his own half with the final action of the opening period.
Indiscipline remained the order of the day for Bath once the second half got under way and they were down to 13 men when prop Wilson was shown a yellow card for a trip. Goode promptly booted over the resulting penalty.
Amazingly a third yellow card came Bath's way soon afterwards when replacement scrum-half Young tackled Christian Wade off the ball, denying the England winger an easy score. Referee JP Doyle awarded a penalty try, converted by Goode.
And it was two tries in three minutes as flanker Ashley Johnson stole an overthrown lineout from Ross Batty to release Tagicakibau, who held off Watson in the race to the line. Goode converted.
Bath's response was immediate and they were over the whitewash with their next attack. Flanker Alafoti Fa'osiliva gained good yards before an excellent combination between centre partners Eastmond and Joseph allowed the latter to dot down out wide. Ford's conversion attempt came back off the posts.
The score seemed to spark life into Bath and they had a second try of the day once they were back up to their full complement of players. Ford sent a penalty to the corner, lock Dave Attwood claimed the lineout and Young scampered over the whitewash from close range. Ford added the extras.
Bath continued to up the pressure and a powerful scrum in the Wasps half produced a third try with ten minutes to go, with a series of quick passes catching the hosts flat-footed and replacement flanker Sisi was able to muscle his way over. Ford converted.
Another scrum was swiftly swamped by a now rampant Bath pack to yield a penalty inside the Wasps half and Ford slotted the kick to haul his side within losing bonus point territory but there was not enough time for them to complete the great escape by snatching a draw.
WASPS: Andrea Masi, Christian Wade, Elliot Daly, Alapati Leiua, Sailosi Tagicakibau, Andy Good, Joe Simpson, Matt Mullan, Carlo Festuccia, Lorenzo Cittadini, James Gaskell, Bradley Davies, Ashley Johnson, James Haskell (capt), Nathan Hughes. Replacements: Tom Lindsay, John Yapp, Jake Cooper-Woolley, Ed Jackson, Sam Jones, Charlie Davies, Rob Miller, Chris Bell.
Tries: Penalty, Tagicakibau Conversions: Goode 2 Penalties: Goode 4, Daly
BATH RUGBY: Gavin Henson, Semesa Rokoduguni, Jonathan Joseph, Kyle Eastmond, Anthony Watson, George Ford, Chris Cook, Paul James, Rob Webber, David Wilson, Stuart Hooper (capt), Dave Attwood, Alafoti Fa'osiliva, Guy Mercer, Leroy Houston. Replacements: Ross Batty, Nathan Catt, Henry Thomas, Dominic Day, David Sisi, Micky Young, Ollie Devoto, Olly Woodburn.
Tries: Joseph, Young, Sisi Conversions: Ford 2
Referee: JP Doyle
Attendance: 7,397
