Bath seize derby win
Bath secured victory over Gloucester in a dismal West Country derby to mark their first Guinness Premiership home triumph since April.
By Rachel Griffiths
Last Updated: 27/12/09 5:22pm
Bath secured a tedious win over Gloucester in a dismal West Country derby to mark their first Guinness Premiership home triumph since April.
Fly-half Nicky Little played a key role in the home side's victory at the Recreation Ground, kicking four penalties and converting a late try by Matt Banahan, with Jack Cuthbert also crossing the line.
Wales international Nicky Robinson booted a penalty and prop Alasdair Dickinson touched down for Gloucester, who have not won an away league fixture for almost three months.
Gloucester were outgunned in the second period when Bath stepped up the pace to score 21 points and add to the woes of the visitors, who are already facing an early Heineken Cup exit.
Grip
Robinson kicked Gloucester into an early lead in the ninth minute, although neither team could establish a grip on the contest in the first quarter.
The opening session saw both sides disrupted by injury, with Gloucester scrum-half Rory Lawson going off and Bath centre Shontayne Hape needing treatment to a head wound.
Hape returned to the field just before the break, but the visitors were still one player short at the end of the first period after hooker Scott Lawson was sin-binned for a reckless late challenge on Bath's Australian flanker Julian Salvi.
Bath cranked things up slightly before half time, with Little landing an equalising short-range penalty to conclude a dreary opening session.
Cuthbert was brought on for the second half to relieve injured Bath full-back Nick Abendanon, and the hosts went up a gear as action resumed to go 6-3 ahead thanks to another Little penalty.
Bath punctuated their new found dominance when Salvi plunged into Gloucester's 22, leading to a grappling contest between both front-rows before Lawson returned.
Little made it a hat-trick 15 minutes into the second period and then added his last penalty of the match early in the final quarter, giving Bath a late confidence boost.
Desperate
The home side's desperate search for a touchdown was rewarded with 12 minutes left on the clock when Cuthbert managed to break Gloucester's resistance and plough over.
Banahan piled on the pressure with a second try fed from an ambitious Robinson pass, with Little converting to add the insurance.
Gloucester's final say was too little too late as Scotland international Dickinson made a last-gasp touchdown, and it was Bath who took the points.
