The weather was kind to Bath for their last home game of the season, and therefore the last appearance at the Rec in Bath colours for those players leaving the club at the end of the season. With the warm sunshine, a full house, and a derby against rivals and Guinness Premiership high-fliers Gloucester, a team including such former Bath players as Iain Balshaw and Mike Tindall, the stage was set for a cracker.

Bath attacked with intent from the start, forcing Gloucester to concede a couple of early penalties. Barkley made the most of this in the fourth minute, with a penalty struck confidently from the left-hand side of the pitch. Two minutes later, he repeated the feat from the same side, though a little further away, but Ryan Lamb soon clawed back three points with a penalty for indiscipline at the ruck.

The first scrum went Gloucester’s way, and from here the visitors showed their threat on the offensive, but Shaun Berne’s tackle on James Simpson-Daniel stifled the danger early in the move, and such strong defence eventually forced Gloucester to hold on and concede the penalty and position. Bath, though, had to watch their discipline too, and gave Lamb another attempt at goal, but his kick veered to the right of the posts.

Midway through the half, Marco Bortolami was sent to the sin-bin for a professional foul at the ruck, when Nick Abendanon, having fielded a kick just inside his own half, cut through a sea of red shirts, was finally brought down on the 22.

But Gloucester mounted an attack that took them within inches of the Bath line, and it soon became fourteen against fourteen, as Dave Pearson, the referee, brandished the yellow card for a second time, punishing Zak Feaunati for failing to roll away at the ruck. Lamb failed to add the three points, but moments later he gave Gloucester the lead when he converted a try by Will James, who stepped through a defensive line that had been under increasing pressure for some minutes to score.

The visitors stung Bath once more, when Lamb made a diagonal break and fed James Bailey on the right wing, whose pace was more than adequate to take advantage of the space and score Gloucester’s second try.

Bath finished the half with a series of pick-and-drive moves, by dint of which they made their way steadily towards the line, and they picked up the pace when Chris Malone delayed his pass to Andy Beattie, who surged over the 22. Malone nearly broke through to score, but Gloucester remained alert and cleared their lines when Bath were penalised for holding on in the tackle, and so retained their six-point lead at half-time.

Bath started the second half brightly, thanks to a break by Barkley, who showed pace as well as strength, but it was Gloucester who notched the first points of the half, with yet another penalty by Lamb.

However, Barkley ate into their lead with another successful kick of his own, when Gloucester infringed at the ruck after close-quarter work by the forwards. Shortly after, an excellent tackle by Barkley on James Simpson-Daniel dislodged the ball, and Bath pounced, working the ball along the line before Malone’s probing kick took play into Gloucester’s 22. It was Gloucester’s lineout, but their clearance was charged down and Bath won another penalty when Michael Lipman’s follow-up work on Tindall forced the centre to hold on. Barkley’s kick cut the lead to three points, but it became six once more when Lamb potted another himself, a chance set up by Simpson-Daniel’s robust run up to the 22.

Bath put their heads down, and three minutes later, Barkley was on target with his sixth penalty from about the same place as the last. Malone nearly equalled the scores with a drop-goal attempt, but it just fell to the left of the uprights.

When Gloucester took a scrum against the head in Bath’s 22, danger loomed, but tough tackling by Barkley again, and excellent work on the ground by David Barnes, won Bath a penalty and the chance to clear.

It was hard work to get into Gloucester’s half, but a kick by Malone did so, and though Gloucester claimed their own lineout, they were turned over at the breakdown and a high tackle on Abendanon allowed Barkley to line up another penalty kick. In front of the posts, he made no mistake, and Bath drew level with only injury time to play.

A frantic finish ensued, in which Bath tried to get within range of goal, but a drop-goal attempt by Michael Stephenson missed the mark, and it remained 21-all when the final whistle blew.

Scorers:
4: Penalty Barkley, 3-0
6: Pen Barkley, 6-0
10: Pen Lamb, 6-3
22: Pen Barkley, 9-3
29: Try James, Conversion Lamb, 9-10
37: Try Bailey, 9-15
(Half-time)
46: Pen Lamb, 9-18
50: Pen Barkley, 12-18
55: Pen Barkley, 15-18
57: Pen Lamb, 15-21
60: Pen Barkley, 18-21
79: Pen Barkley, 21-21

BATH: 15. N Abendanon 14. J Maddock (Stephenson, 20) 13. S Berne (Walker, 39) 12. O Barkley 11. T Cheeseman 10. C Malone 9. A Williams 1. D Barnes 2. L Mears 3. M Stevens 4. S Borthwick (captain) 5. D Grewcock 6. A Beattie (Short, 61) 7. M Lipman 8. I Feaunati (sin-bin: 27-37; Faamatuianu, 74)

Replacements: 16. P Dixon 17. A Jarvis 18. P Short 19. J Faamatuainu  20. P Travagli 21. M Stephenson 22. C Walker
 
GLOUCESTER: 15. I Balshaw 14. J Bailey 13. M Tindall (Foster, 10-20) 12. A Allen 11. J Simpson-Daniel 10. R Lamb (Walker, 80) 9. R Lawson (Richards, 61) 1. N Wood (Forster, 36-40+1) 2. O Azam 3. C Nieto 4. W James (Boer, 80+2) 5. M Bortolami (captain; sin-bin: 21-33) 6. P Buxton 7. A Hazell (Eustace, 64) 8. J Forrester

Replacements: 16. R Elloway 17. J Forster 18. A Eustace 19. J Boer 20. P Richards 21. W Walker 22. M Foster.

Referee: D Pearson
Attendance: 10,600