Newcastle’s hold on the bottom position in the table is becoming that bit securer by the week, but there was little suggestion in their fourth consecutive league defeat that they were preoccupied by a fear of going down. Premiership Rugby wants an immediate end to relegation while allowing the Championship champions this season to be promoted, as long as they are London Irish, to make it 13 at the top. Unlucky for some.
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This match for a long time offered a snapshot of what life could be like if the trapdoor closed. It meandered, a confusion of poor passes, unforced mistakes and bad decisions, as if the teams were at the end of the season and looking forward to a break.
The Falcons enjoyed spells of possession but lacked direction. Bath had two wings who had the ability to turn a sliver of space into an opportunity, at least until half-time when Semesa Rokoduguni succumbed to a knee injury. The England international scored the first try after a stale opening during which Rhys Priestland and Toby Flood exchanged penalties.
Bath were awarded a scrum five metres out after Chris Harris held up Nathan Catt over the line and produced a move out of step with what had gone on before. Priestland passed quickly to Tom Homer outside him. It drew in Sinoti Sinoti from the wing and Homer exploited the overlap to give Rokoduguni a run-in.
Newcastle responded with Flood’s second penalty, but there was a flatness about them, no sense they were getting too close to the edge. Sinoti was an exception, desperate to be involved, and Nemani Nagusa made the odd rumble, but theirs was a long fuse that burned slowly.
Rokoduguni was in more of a hurry. He created Bath’s second try out of little, stepping away from two defenders before outpacing two others. He was eventually hauled down by Simon Hammersley but Bath had an overlap on the left and Jonathan Joseph’s chip to the line was skilfully turned into a try by Joe Cokanasiga, the wing who was released from the England squad to play his first match in more than two months.
Newcastle’s deflation continued when Will Chudley scored from a scrum in the final minute of the half to give Bath a 20-6 lead.
Whatever was said in Newcastle’s changing room may have required an interpreter because they started the second period similar to the first, strolling in their sleep, but after 10 minutes they suddenly stirred.
Bath gave away a penalty at the lineout, Newcastle kicked to touch and Nagusa scored after a driving maul. Flood’s conversion reduced the deficit to seven points, bonus point territory. When Nagusa thumped into Zach Mercer, the ball went as far forward as the Bath No 8 went backward and the match looked in the balance.
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Not for long. The Falcons enjoyed their best attacking period of the match but still were not going anywhere. Bath went through a few defensive drills before returning upfield.
Priestland’s second penalty 15 minutes from time restored their cushion and after Newcastle made a series of attempts to get out of their own half that ended in handling errors, Francois Louw finished a series of drives to give Bath a bonus point that took them close to the top four, in terms of points at least.
“They scored too easily and we did not take our chances,” said Newcastle’s director of rugby, Dean Richards. He could have been summing up his side’s season.
Sinoti got over the line with three minutes to go, but the ball did not make it with him, knocked out of his grasp by Cokanasiga. Newcastle’s passes kept going down but if they remain at the bottom, will they?