Bath top the Gallagher Premiership at Christmas after winning an absorbing battle with fellow title contenders Harlequins 25-17 at the Rec.
England wing Joe Cokanasiga scored twice, with his second try clinching an important bonus point late on.
Other Bath tries went to lock Elliott Stooke and flanker Miles Reid, while the Londoners stayed in contention with tries from fly-half Marcus Smith, hooker Jack Walker and flanker James Chisholm.
Bath took the lead within two minutes. Will Muir leapt high to tap back Ben Spencer’s lofted kick and Finn Russell somehow found space on the right to release Ollie Lawrence. Cokanasiga was on his shoulder to steam through Tyrone Green’s attempted tackle but Russell’s conversion attempt was wide.
There was hardly time for the sell-out crowd to savour that score before Smith danced through the home defence to score at the other end, although he hooked his kick against a post.
The swirling wind and rain made handling difficult and Bath looked particularly vulnerable in defence. Quins, enjoying a territorial advantage, looked smarter on both sides of the ball throughout the first quarter. However, their indiscipline cost them prime attacking positions and a fumble by Alex Dombrandt brought a prolonged assault on the Bath line to a halt. The home side suddenly burst into life on the half-hour as Will Muir galloped away from his 22, eventually finding Spencer in support. The scrum-half had to catch the offload behind his back but the ball came back at a ruck under the posts and Max Ojomoh scored on the left - or so it seemed. Instead referee Luke Pearce brought play back, yellow-carded Danny Care for falling on the tackled player and Russell put his side ahead 8-3 with a penalty.
There was still time before the break for Reid to save Bath at the other end with a turnover penalty. Bath struck quickly after the restart with a catch-and-drive try by Stooke and followed up in the 48th minute with another spectacular effort by Cokanasiga, steamrollering over Smith’s attempted tackle. Russell’s conversion, the first of the game, took Bath 20-5 ahead.
Yet the visitors were not about to lie down and Smith’s penalty to the corner led to a catch-and-drive for Walker on his 50th appearance since joining from Bath. Smith converted but Bath were gaining the upper hand and Russell’s inch-perfect tactical kicking set up a line-out in the corner. This time it was Reid who profited, leaving the home side with an 11-point lead and just six minutes to defend it.
Unfortunately for Quins, Chisholm’s last-minute score came too late. They might have claimed a losing bonus point but Smith again hooked his conversion against a post.
Elsewhere, Adam Hastings missed a 45-metre angled penalty with the last kick of the match as Gloucester suffered a 31-29 Gallagher Premiership defeat to Northampton before a crowd of over 15,000 at Kingsholm.
Hastings’ failure took Gloucester’s losing run in the league to seven games but it was rough justice on them for they had dominated a one-sided second half.
When the hosts trailed 24-7 after 35 minutes, another loss looked a near certainty but a yellow card for Saints centre Rory Hutchinson saw an instant change in momentum as Gloucester scored 22 unanswered points.
Freddie Clarke, Chris Harris, Matias Alemanno and Santiago Carreras scored their tries with Adam Hastings adding three conversions and a penalty. Curtis Langdon scored two tries for Northampton, with Alex Mitchell, Alex Coles and Tom Litchfield also on the try-scoring sheet as Fin Smith added three conversions.
Finally, Exeter Chiefs beat Leicester Tigers 29-10 to move into fourth. Exeter head coach Ali Hepher paid tribute to a record Sandy Park crowd as an attendance of exactly 15,000 saw the Chiefs claim victory.
The hosts led 24-0 early in the second half thanks to three first-half tries before a brief Leicester rally, with Rusi Tuima’s score at the death sealing the bonus point.
Hepher said: “The try at the end rounded off a really impressive performance from the guys.
“We threw everything into it, they emptied their tanks because we know Leicester are a good side. That gave us the foundations to get a good win.
“Playing in front of a full house here at Sandy Park is an incredible honour and something the guys aspire to do.
“It is about making sure you release that energy on to the field and I am chuffed to bits for the guys because they have put a lot of hard work in.
“We have had a couple of short turnarounds between games in there and they keep bouncing through.”
Saturday’s victory stretched Exeter‘s unbeaten home run to 23 matches in all competitions, spanning a period of 61 weeks.
“Our home form has been incredible,” Hepher said. “Our fans have been unbelievable and the guys have given them something to get behind.”
