A spirited Bath United rallied in the second half to secure a 36-13 victory over the Royal Navy at the Rec, with five tries being scored in the later stages of the match.
United looked the stronger of the two sides from the kick-off, pinning the Navy back in their own half and forcing the error which gave Ed Hainsworth an early shot at goal. The fly-half couldn't convert the penalty, but it wasn't long before the home side got their first points on the board.
The powerful United scrum gained control of the ball, and it was moved quickly through the hands to Ben Williams charging through the middle. The centre was tackled but stayed on his feet and scrambled over the line. Hainsworth was on target with the conversion, giving United a 7-0 lead after 11 minutes.
United maintained control of the game for the majority of the first half, and it wasn't until the 28th minute that the Navy scored their first points, as POAET Pascoe struck a penalty through the uprights after Bath were pinged for holding on. 7-3.
Their score allowed the visitors to get a foothold in the game, and when United scrum-half Chris Cook was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle, it took just four minutes for the man advantage to tell after they started spreading the ball wide.
Ben Mosses' kick ahead was charged down by fly-half Capt. Tom Glover, who grubbered through and touched down. Pascoe was again accurate with the boot, securing the conversion, and giving the Navy the lead. He extended it on the stroke of halftime with another penalty, seeing the visitors go in 7-13 ahead at the break.
Restored to 15 men early in the second half, United once again took control of the match, with the Navy barely seeing the ball.
Williams made another powerful charge through the midfield, taking play straight into the Navy 22. He released to Alex Brown who was on his shoulder, but the winger was scragged just short of the line by some scrambled Navy defence. The home side kept up the pressure though, and were awarded a scrum a few phases later. The dominant Bath pack once more rumbled forward, and referee Shane Lewis didn't hesitate in awarding a penalty try. Hainsworth nailed the conversion, taking the home side back into the lead with just under half an hour left of the game. 14-13.
From there on in it was one way traffic, with United crossing again just minutes later. The ball was worked through the hands, with many playing their part in driving play forward into the Navy 22. Prop Charlie Beech gathered the ball about ten metres out and drove through the defence to dive over the line between the posts. Hainsworth again added the extras. 21-13.
Another prop, this time tighthead Kane Palma-Newport, was next to cross, after a stunning break from Rich Lane down the right hand wing saw play driven deep into Navy territory. The ball was recycled quickly, worked up to the line, and Palma-Newport crashed over from short range. 26-13.
United kept control of the match, and two further tries were scored going into the last quarter.
First Mosses charged through the centre and quick hands saw the ball recycled for Brown to crash over in the corner, then another break from Williams saw play taken up to within five metres for lock Max Wilson to touch down from short range. 36-13.
The last ten minutes saw no further scores for either side, but United continued to press, maintaining control of the game until the final whistle.
Final Score – Bath United 36 – Royal Navy 13
Bath United team
15. JJ Kilmartin
14. Richard Lane
13. Ben Mosses
12. Ben Williams
11. Alex Brown
10. Ed Hainsworth
9. Chris Cook
1. Charlie Beech
2. Will Tanner
3. Kane Palma-Newport (Capt)
4. Will Spencer
5. Max Wilson
6. James Tyas
7. Joe Buckle
8. Will Skuse
Replacements
16. Max Anderson
17. Tom Dunn
18. Nick Morris
19. Tom Baldwin
20. George Drury
21. Freddie Gabbitass
22. Ollie Devoto
Royal Navy Senior XV
1. Lt RN T Blackburn (RNAS Yeovilton)
2. Lt RN D Smith (HMS Vanguard)
3. AET K Beasley (RNAS Culdrose)
4. S/Lt H Mitchell-Heggs (HMS Sultan)
5. POAET M Cormack* ** (RNAS Yeovilton)
6. AET G Jones* (HMNB Portsmouth)
7. MA S Laird* (HMS Collingwood)
8. Sgt G Evans* **
9. POAET D Pascoe* ** Capt (RNAS Culdrose)
10. Capt T Glover (CTCRM)
11. AET B Clarke (RNAS Yeovilton)
12. AB D Bamford (HMS Dragon)
13. Mne N Huntley (40 Cdo)
14. AET A Hunt (RNAS Culdrose)
15. AET J Humphrey (RNAS Yeovilton)
Replacements
16. Mne D Taylor (42 Cdo)
17. ET(ME) J Parry (HMS Monmouth)
18. AET R Metcalfe (RNAS Yeovilton)
19. Mne B Fox (45 Cdo)
20. Mne S Raumakita (42 Cdo)
21. Mne J Foster (40 Cdo)
22. S/LT A Vance (HMS Sultan)
