Bath United took the spoils in an entertaining Aviva A League West Country derby against Bristol United with a three-try 30-17 victory.
United took just three minutes to take the lead. A strong forward drive following the lineout established the home side well in the Bristol 22, before the ball was spun out wide to Rory Jennings. The centre offloaded neatly to Darren Atkins on his shoulder, and the wing had a clear run at the line. Adam Hastings was on target for the conversion. 7-0.
Forward dominance was to the fore for the second United try. A penalty at the scrum was dispatched to touch and from the resulting lineout the forwards barged towards the line. Under a pile of bodies, Kane Palma-Newport grounded the ball and the try was awarded. Hastings was again successful with the conversion. 14-0.
George Watkins grabbed five points back for the visitors moments later, intercepting in the Bath half and sprinting away to score. 14-5.
Two penalties from Hastings – one on the 16th minute and one on the 36th – saw Bath take a comfortable 15 point lead into half-time.
Half-time: Bath United 20 – Bristol United 5
Whilst the home side had enjoyed the upper hand in the first-half, Bristol came out from the break determined to claw themselves back into the game, and they did so on the 46th minute, after some patient phase play saw Auguy Slowik go over in the corner. Callum Sheedy added the extra two points. 20-12.
Even though the rain was falling ,neither side forgot their attacking instincts. More resolute build-up from the Bristol pack enabled Ryan Edwards to score out wide from short-range. Sheedy couldn’t find his angle, but the try meant there was just three points separating the two sides going into the final 10 minutes.
Despite some valiant fight from Bristol, those 10 minutes belonged mainly to the young Bath side. Another scrum penalty saw Hastings extend the lead by three, before Max Clark stepped his way through the visiting defence to touch down just wide of the post. Hastings added the conversion to seal the win.
Final score: Bath United 30 – Bristol United 17.
Bath United team
15. Brett Herron
14. Darren Atkins
13. Max Clark
12. Rory Jennings
11. Liam Forsyth
10. Adam Hastings
9. Jonathan Evans
1. Nathan Catt
2. Tom Dunn ( c )
3. Kane Palma-Newport
4. Pat Jenkinson
5. Alex Humfrey
6. Levi Douglas
7. Sydney Blackmore
8. Zach Mercer
Replacement
16. Dan Frost
17. Beno Obano
18. Jack Edmondson
19. Will Britton
20. Freddie Avis
21. Will Homer
22. Henry Martin
23. Owen Waters
