Bath Rugby flanker Josh Bayliss said that the result of Saturday’s first victory away at Sandy Park was not lost on the rest of the squad.
For the past eight years, Bath have travelled down the M5 to take on Exeter and come back empty-handed, often having just been hammered at the Chiefs’ home. However, seeking revenge for their Champions Cup last 16 away at Exeter a fortnight ago, Johann van Graan’s Bath side outmuscled their opponents, claiming a crucial bonus-point win. Bayliss described it as a massive turnaround from two weeks ago.
“It was really pleasing to put ourselves in a great position at half-time and, this time, be able to get the job done,” he said
Two weeks ago, Bath had been leading 12-7 at the break, only for Exeter to come from behind to reach the quarter-finals. This time around, though, having led 14-0 at half-time, the visitors were able to extend their lead before closing out the game 26-14.
“For us, it was being able to put that half to bed and accept we had done well, speak about how we needed to go and capitalise on it this time around, and all the focus was on the next half.
“There was nothing about maintaining that lead; it was about going into the second half, imposing our game once more, and scoring two tries to get that bonus point,”
It has been many years since Bath won at Sandy Park when Semesa Rokoduguni’s last-gasp try on 87 minutes gave then-head coach Todd Blackadder a memorable win.
“I’ve come to Sandy Park a lot of times, and this is the first time I have won here.
“The last time we won here, Charlie Ewels was playing at eight, and that was my first year at the club – so yeah, we are pretty happy, and the result is not lost on us.”
This time, there was no such drama. Bath held off the relentless Exeter attack in the second half to earn the full five points and leapfrog Saracens back into second place with only three games left of the regular season. Their position in the table could become more assured on Friday against the third-place side and last season’s champions.
“It’s a special group we have here at the moment, so let’s hope we push on.
“We speak about how special Friday night games are at the Rec, and it will be another step on our journey, so we want to put our best foot forward,”.
