Match Report
Bath - 10
Newcastle Falcons - 0
The visitors led 19-12 at half-time and powered further away on a disappointing afternoon for the North Easterners, who will look to regroup ahead of Friday’s visit of Wasps.
The home side found themselves a try down inside five minutes when Bath kicked a penalty to the right corner and Sam Underhill broke free from a driving maul, Tian Schoeman’s conversion drifting wide on the wind.
The visitors hit double figures on 12 minutes when fellow back-rower Zach Mercer darted in for a try between the posts, a tap penalty from five metres out providing the ideal launch pad for the No 8 to profit.
Schoeman added the extras from in front, but the quick tap penalty was working for both sides as Newcastle used a similar position to propel Trevor Davison over the try-line on 18 minutes, Brett Connon converting.
Schoeman hit the post with a penalty as Bath tried and failed to extend their lead, but they had no such problems on 28 minutes when yet another close-range tap penalty saw hooker Tom Dunn barrelling over for a converted try.
Newcastle finally managed some handling fluency around the half-hour mark with a period of sustained pressure – the TMO ruling out their claim for a try in the right corner from yet another close-range ruck.
But they did not have long to wait to make up for that blow, Tom Penny scoring in the left corner when a scything counter-attack from Mateo Carreras helped set up a ruck two metres out from which the full-back ploughed over.
Bath led 19-12 at half-time as Joe Cokanasiga tracked back to thwart another attack from Carreras, and they added to their lead eight minutes into the second half when Henry Thomas scored the bonus-point try from a line-out in the left corner.
A close-range line-out brought try number five for the West Country side when a 12-man maul in the right corner enabled Dunn to score his second, Jack Walker repeating the trick with a similar score in the opposite corner on 63 minutes.
Newcastle at least had the last say with a penalty try as the TMO denied Charlie Maddison a score, but it added little shine to a disappointing day.
**Newcastle Falcons:** 15 Tom Penny (Cooper Vuna, 59), 14 Alex Tait, 13 George Wacokecoke, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Brett Connon (Joel Matavesi, 70), 9 Sam Stuart (Louis Schreuder, 56); 1 Trevor Davison (Kyle Cooper, 56), 2 George McGuigan (Charlie Maddison, 56), 3 Mark Tampin (Mike Daniels, 56), 4 Greg Peterson, 5 Darren Barry, 6 Gary Graham (John Hardie, 45, Sean Robinson, 54), 7 Philip van der Walt, 8 Callum Chick (captain).
**Scorers –** Tries: Trevor Davison, Tom Penny, Penalty try. Conversions: Brett Connon.
**Bath Rugby:** 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Ruaridh McConnochie (Semesa Rokoduguni, 63), 10 Tian Schoeman (Max Clark, 35), 9 Ben Spencer (Ollie Fox, 70); 1 Juan Schoeman (Arthur Cordwell, 72), 2 Tom Dunn (Jack Walker, 57), 3 Henry Thomas (Christian Judge, 57), 4 Josh McNally (captain), 5 Elliott Stooke (Tom Ellis, 70), 6 Miles Reid, 7 Sam Underhill (Ethan Staddon, 63), 8 Zach Mercer.
**Scorers –** Tries: Sam Underhill, Zach Mercer, Tom Dunn 2, Henry Thomas, Jack Walker. Conversions: Tian Schoeman 2, Ben Spencer 2.
**Referee:** Ian Tempest.
