It was the University of Bath’s fourth win in six BUCS Super Rugby games and followed on from their brilliant win over Durham at The Rec last time out.

Bath went 36-21 up with 10 minutes to go courtesy of 24 points from Luca Mignot and an excellent try from Academy back row Ethan Staddon.

A succession of penalties allowed Loughborough back into the game, though, and they cut the gap to 36-35 before Team Bath held on during a nail-biting last few minutes.

Staddon was joined by Archie Stanley, Jasper Spandler, Archie Griffin, Mackenzie Graham and Thompson Cowan in the pack while Louie Hennessey and Byron Lloyd-Gilmour were named in the backline. Eddie Erskine and Murdoch Lock were among the replacements.

The first half was played in torrential rain and the conditions played a role in Team Bath’s opening try inside four minutes. An up-and-under from Mignot slipped out of Loughborough’s possession and the home fly-half followed up his kick to collect the loose ball and race over in the corner.

He also added an excellent conversion and a penalty moments later to give Team Bath a flying start but they conceded a penalty from the restart, allowing Loughborough to kick to touch and use a line-out drive to pull a try back through lock Alex Wardell.

Bath, who had the blustery wind behind them, were largely on the front foot and Mignot kicked another penalty to extend their advantage. He was set to go for the posts again in the 25^th minute but a call from the coaches saw Mignot kick for touch instead and the resulting line-out led to Loughborough conceding a penalty try.

Another Mignot penalty stretched the lead to 23-7 but it was Loughborough who had the final say in the half, again utilising a five-metre line-out drive to rumble over. Prop Mink Scharink got the touchdown. The advantage was cut to two points just after the interval as a tap penalty in front of the posts set scrum-half Charlie Briers up to cut through for Loughborough’s third converted try.

However, with the wind and rain easing, Team Bath were able to extend the gap through a Mignot penalty before scoring the try of the evening from the restart. Lock Graham took a towering catch from the kick-off and, as with his solo try in last week’s Anniversary Game, produced a rapid turn of pace to slice through the visiting defence. Harry Breeze supported brilliantly to take the inside pass and offload to Staddon for a fantastic try.

Mignot’s conversion was equally impressive and when he kicked another penalty with just over 10 minutes to go, Team Bath found themselves 36-21 up.

The momentum swung on the finest of margins, though, as a Loughborough kick to touch was adjudged to have gone over millimetres before the dead ball line. Team Bath were penalised from the subsequent line-out and Loughborough captain Tobias Munday forced his way over to get his team back in the contest.

Charlie Titcombe added the conversion but narrowly missed a penalty soon after. However, Loughborough were ratcheting up the pressure and when Team Bath allowed a ball to bounce in their 22 the visitors took full advantage to score again through replacement Josh Tusler.

The conversion made it a one-point game with three minutes to go but Team Bath were able to hold their nerve and see out a hard-earned victory.

Staddon try helps Team Bath defeat Loughborough in BUCS

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