Llanelli started very forcelfully, and after several early errors,
Bath found themselves pinned back deep in their own half - solid
defensively but unable to gain any territory on the occasions they
did turn over ball. The backs were evidently still feeling out how
to deal with the inability to kick direct to touch from a ball passed
back into the 22 - several aimless kicks down the middle of the field
were effectively returned by the welsh back 3 and eventually Bath
were caught failing to roll away at the ruck, and Llanelli were first
on the board with 3 points.

This seemed to spur Bath into action, and a succession of spirited
but imprecise attacks led to a Bath scrum 5 metres from the Llanelli
line, but Duncan Bell was penalised by Sean Davey for boring in and
the welshmen cleared the ensuing penalty. However, the lineout was
stolen by Justin Harrison (an early replacement for Danny Grewcock)
and after several phases and a sparkling break from Joe Maddock,
Llanelli were caught offside in midfield and Shaun Berne levelled the
scores.

Bath continued to press well, and the back division's organisation
started to look better but the Llanelli defence held well until a
sniping run from Claassens on the 22 combined with quick ruck ball
led to Lipman forcing his way over near the posts. Berne missed a
relatively simple conversion, and Bath showed their lack of sharpness
by conceding a penalty immediately from the restart, which Ceiran
Thomas converted to leave the score at 8-6 to Bath.

The rest of the half degenerated into rather scrappy play, with
neither side willing to concede an advantage and several aerial
duels. Llanelli were eventually caught not rolling away from the
ruck on their 10m line and Berne showed much better technique than
his previous attempt to edge Bath to 11-6 ahead, a lead they retained
at half time.

Llanelli came out with an entirely different XV in the second half,
and for Bath, Maddock and Abendanon were off, replaced by Higgins and
Cuthbert. The Bath penalty count remained high in the opening ten
minutes, and after missing one attempt, the new Llanelli pivot Rhys
Priestland converted a second from in front of the posts after Bath
were caught handling in the ruck.

Despite this, Bath kept infringing and the men in BB&W were caught
napping after a quick penalty taken by the Llanelli scrum half who
put Rob Higgit in under the posts after drawing the last man. This,
gave Bath the impetus they needed to respond, with 'Lucky Jack'
Cuthbert getting more and more involved, and it was he who stepped up
to convert a long range penalty to pull the score back to 16-14 in
the visitors' favour.

Then came the moment of the match - after a series of drives in
midfield, a gap opened up for Maddock, back on for Banahan, who
breezed past 3 Llanelli defenders to score under the posts, with
Berne kicking the simple conversion to take the score to 21-16 to
Bath. Lucky Jack then attempted a 60m penalty from well inside the
Bath half, which had the legs but just drifted to the right of the
posts. However, he was well on target with another long range effort
from the right hand touchline to leave the score 24-16 to Bath.

The match was a typical warmup - lack of precision in execution in
all facets of the game, disruption to patterns by constant changes of
personnel, and the blooding of relatively new faces. Jack Cuthbert
looked excellent - he seems a very natural fullback and has a
prodigious kicking boot - given his range and accuracy I think he
could develop very well indeed. However, Shaun Berne doesn't look
like he's quite there at fly half, and the lineout looked in need of
much more time on the training paddock to get the drills together.
As for the ELVs - I think it's only fair to withhold judgement given
the nature of the match.

Shontayne Hape was also in evidence in the Academy game against
Redruth afterwards, and showed good commitment and running angles
playing at outside centre - sterner tests await him in the future but
he looks much more relaxed and natural than Chev Walker ever did.
Good to see several old faces (and a few intriguing sights in the
Pulteney Arms afterwards) - I think we can look forward to the new
season with quiet confidence, though like many I will be much happier
when Butch is back in the BB&W!

Bath 24 (Tries: Lipman, Maddock, Con: Berne, Pens Berne, Cuthbert 3) 
v. Llanelli 16 (Try: Higgit, Con: Priestland, Pens Thomas 2, Priestland)

Bookmark or share this story with:

• Digg
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon

SPORTNETWORK SPECIALS