United took just three minutes to take the lead. A strong forward drive following the lineout established the home side well in the Bristol 22, before the ball was spun out wide to Rory Jennings. The centre offloaded neatly to Darren Atkins on his shoulder, and the wing had a clear run at the line. Adam Hastings was on target for the conversion. 7-0.

Forward dominance was to the fore for the second United try. A penalty at the scrum was dispatched to touch and from the resulting lineout the forwards barged towards the line. Under a pile of bodies, Kane Palma-Newport grounded the ball and the try was awarded. Hastings was again successful with the conversion. 14-0.

George Watkins grabbed five points back for the visitors moments later, intercepting in the Bath half and sprinting away to score. 14-5.

Two penalties from Hastings – one on the 16^th minute and one on the 36^th – saw Bath take a comfortable 15 point lead into half-time.

Half-time: Bath United 20 – Bristol United 5

Whilst the home side had enjoyed the upper hand in the first-half, Bristol came out from the break determined to claw themselves back into the game, and they did so on the 46^th minute, after some patient phase play saw Auguy Slowik go over in the corner. Callum Sheedy added the extra two points. 20-12.

Even though the rain was falling ,neither side forgot their attacking instincts. More resolute build-up from the Bristol pack enabled Ryan Edwards to score out wide from short-range. Sheedy couldn’t find his angle, but the try meant there was just three points separating the two sides going into the final 10 minutes.

Despite some valiant fight from Bristol, those 10 minutes belonged mainly to the young Bath side. Another scrum penalty saw Hastings extend the lead by three, before Max Clark stepped his way through the visiting defence to touch down just wide of the post. Hastings added the conversion to seal the win.

Final score: Bath United 30 – Bristol United 17.

Bath United team

15. Brett Herron

14. Darren Atkins

13. Max Clark

12. Rory Jennings

11. Liam Forsyth

10. Adam Hastings

9. Jonathan Evans

1. Nathan Catt

2. Tom Dunn ( c )

3. Kane Palma-Newport

4. Pat Jenkinson

5. Alex Humfrey

6. Levi Douglas

7. Sydney Blackmore

8. Zach Mercer

Replacement

16. Dan Frost

17. Beno Obano

18. Jack Edmondson

19. Will Britton

20. Freddie Avis

21. Will Homer

22. Henry Martin

23. Owen Waters

United take the spoils in Aviva A League West Country derby

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