Bath Rugby Academy were agonisingly edged out in the closing minutes few minutes to a late penalty from London Irish Academy, with the visiting side winning 19-20 at Downside School.
The Blue, Black and White took an early lead after a driving maul from the line-out finished off by hooker Gabriel Oghre. It was a strong defensive display from Bath, but their line was finally penetrated by Irish second row Ben Donnell to send the teams into the interval closely poised at 7-5.
Half-time: Bath Rugby Academy 7-5 London Irish Academy
Irish continued to pile the pressure on in the second half and persistence paid off with prop Brandon Baker taking his side into a five-point lead after his try was converted by Russell Bennett.
Bath were then reduced to 14 men, with Oghre sent to the sin-bin after 53 minutes. However, three minutes later Tom de Glanville produced a moment of brilliance to send Bath back into the lead with a narrow advantage.
Despite Bath showing resilience under pressure, Fergus Guirey made the man advantage count with his side’s third try of the afternoon to take Irish into a 14-17 lead.
De Glanville ensured a frantic finish, with the fly-half scoring his fourth try in two games after some quick hands, which set him up for another five-point score. 19-17
Bath were back down to 14 men after de Glanville was given the yellow card for a deliberate knock-on, and with just two minutes left on the clock, Irish secured the points with a last gasp penalty from the boot of replacement Reuben Knight.
Final score: Bath Rugby Academy 19-20 London Irish Academy
