Bath Rugby secured a momentous victory at The Rec on as they overcame a 21-point deficit to defeat Bristol Bears 29-27 in a tense yet captivating game.
The win sees the Blue, Black and White end their five-game winless run in the derby, and continues their recent surge after a lacklustre start to the season.
Pat Lam’s men went ahead early with a Harry Thacker brace and a wonderful finish from Siva Naulago.
A red card for the aforementioned Naulago after a high tackle on Will Butt in the 34th minute gave the hosts the man advantage, which they utilised with a superb performance for the final fifty minutes that saw Semesa Rokoduguni, Jonathan Joseph, Taulupe Faletau and Joe Cokanasiga all go over, before Tom de Glanville’s crucial try once the timer had gone dead gave Bath their fourth win of the season.
Bristol were fast out the blocks as a pair of driving mauls gifted Harry Thacker a brace within the opening five minutes as the Bath pack struggled to match their rival’s physicality early.
The Bears added another in the 14th minute as Naulago pushed past three tacklers to skilfully place the ball down in the corner as the hosts remained scoreless.
At the point Bath looked to be on the wrong end of a rugby massacre as Bristol were scoring better than a point a minute and in complete control.
But Bristol's fortunes shifted as the Blue, Black and White began to get a foothold in the game, as Thacker was sent to the bin for an offence at the ruck before fellow try-scorer Naulago was dismissed for a wince-inducing and cynical high tackle on Will Butt.
With the Fijian winger having only returned to action this weekend following a two-game ban for a high tackle against London Irish which also cost his side the game, the fears are the disciplinary book will now be thrown at Naulago.
Bath continued their sustained pressure, eventually breaking through shortly before half-time as an overlap in the right wide channel put a resurgent Semesa Rokoduguni in the corner.
Callum Sheedy added a penalty as the clock went dead to give his side a 19-point lead at halftime, but it was all to play for as the remaining 40 minutes approached and the hosts hoped to exploit their man advantage.
The Welshman was then yellow carded early after the interval, with the Bears going down to 13 again after Sheedy was adjudged to have deliberately knocked the ball on while trying to intercept a pass from Sam Underhill with the Bristol defensive structure broken.
Stuart Hooper’s side took full advantage, with a pair of quickfire tries from Jonathan Joseph and the fresh from international duty Taulupe Faletau reducing the deficit to just five in a matter of minutes.
Bath’s suffocating pressure continued as Bristol stubbornly held onto their lead, with replacement Joe Cokanasiga having one chalked off after an Ioan Lloyd tackle was ruled to have shunned him into touch.
The England international would eventually get his reward for a quality shift off the bench as Rokoduguni’s offload put it on a plate for him in the corner to level the scores at 24-24.
Remarkably, against all the odds, the Bears responded and really should have scored a try that would have delivered an attacking bonus point at the very least, and probably victory.
A Semi Radradra break saw the visitors get deep into the home side's 22 but replacement scrum half Theo Strang on his shoulder in support, was cut down just short of the try line.
With Bath's defence in panic mode, they conceded a penalty in front of the posts which was converted by Sheedy to put the visitors ahead by three with just minutes remaining.
But the drama was far from over.
Bath went all guns blazing and a stunning break from outstanding young second-row prospect Ewan Richards, who at just 19-years-old looks every bit a Premiership player, saw the hosts get to within inches of the try line before his offload failed to find its intended target as Josh Bayliss was taken out by Strang, who was shown yellow.
That gifted the home side one final shot at grabbing the victory.
The Blue, Black and White used their numbers to their advantage, once again forcing an overlap that saw De Glanville touch down once the timer had gone dead, securing Bath their first win over Bristol in five derbies.
Despite a fantastic showing of spirited defence from the Bears, Bath’s man-advantage proved too much to overcome as the Blue, Black and White pushed past their local rivals.
The victors have the week off next week, with a visit from Sale Sharks awaiting them in two weeks’ time.
Bristol meanwhile will host defending Premiership champions Harlequins at Ashton Gate next Sunday.
