3 hours ago
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The Prem
Newcastle (14) 14
Tries: Leatherbarrow, Mafi Cons: Connon 2
Bath (19) 50
Tries: Frost 2, Griffin, van Wyk, Butt, de Glanville, Spencer, Hill Cons: Carreras 5
Bath overcame a disjointed start to beat winless Newcastle Red Bulls 50-14 at Kingston Park as the defending champions returned to the top of The Prem.
Having led twice in a frantic first half through Ollie Leatherbarrow and Amanaki Mafi, Newcastle were pegged back by Dan Frost's double before prop Archie Griffin's finish gave Bath a slender 19-14 half-time advantage.
The visitors had looked ragged, but turned up the power after the break and quickly took control through close-range tries from Francois van Wyk and Will Butt.
Ben Spencer sent a stunning cut-out pass to put Tom de Glanville in the corner and then finished a thrilling end-to-end score before Ted Hill's try took Bath to 50 points.
After dropping down to third place 24 hours earlier, leapfrogged by Exeter and Northampton, Bath ensured top spot at Christmas for a third straight season with an expected ninth successive win over the basement side.
Yet a Bath side showing 10 changes were far from convincing in the first half and had some brittle home defence to thank for their half-time lead.
Buoyed by successive Challenge Cup wins, Newcastle led within four minutes when Leatherbarrow cut through a gap and ran in from 10 metres, but the hosts looked worryingly powerless when Frost was driven over by the Bath pack from a lineout.
After more home pressure, Frost then sniped away from a ruck on the edge of the home 22 and stretched out for his second to give Bath the edge.
However, the visitors were caught offside soon and moments later Mafi peeled off the back of a driving maul to put Newcastle back ahead.
The lead changed hands for a third time in nine minutes when Griffin bounced out of a tackle to power over from close range.
Newcastle continued to harass and frustrate a disjointed Bath and ended a frenetic first half on top.
Yet in a familiar pattern this season, the visitors turned on the power after the break while Newcastle wilted.
Bath scored a fourth try in their fifth visit to the Newcastle 22 as van Wyk plopped over the line, and Butt then went over seconds after centre Sammy Arnold was sent to the sin-bin.
Nursing a 19-point lead, the visitors emptied their bench in one go and replacement Spencer helped turn the screw, first with a brilliant pass for de Glanville and then with a simple run-in after a lightning break down the right flank.
Further gloss was added to Bath's record score over Newcastle as Hill capped a dominant second half with another close-range finish.
Both sides return to action on Saturday as Bath host third-placed Northampton Saints (17:30 GMT), while Newcastle head to the West Country to take on Bristol Bears (15:00 GMT).
Newcastle Red Bulls head coach Alan Dickens told BBC Radio Newcastle:
"They (Bath) were very clinical in the second half, and in the first half when they got into our 22.
"We started fantastically well, we came out of the blocks, scored a good try, aggressive with our carries. I think in the first half we should have scored another 10 points really and that was one of the disappointments.
"I also thought they were pretty lucky to get the third try. There was a neck roll on Tom Christie that was unbelievably obvious but I'll not cry about that too much.
"But that was the disappointment, going in at half-time down when we probably should have been ahead."
Bath head coach Johann van Graan told BBC Radio Somerset:
"It was a big battle, specifically the first 40, and a real 23-man effort. I thought we got some momentum and we won that second half by 31 points to zero, so I'm very happy with the five points.
"It's a third year in a row we are top at Christmas. You don't get an award for it, but it shows that we've become a consistent team and we're still a team that wants to get better.
"The other pleasing thing is how we gel. Multiple changes from this week to last and that's what you need from a squad, and we've got a really good squad of players here."
Newcastle: Grayson, Spencer, Hearle, Arnold, Obatoyinbo, Connon, Benitez Cruz; Brocklebank, McGuigan (c), McCallum, Usher, de Chaves, Leatherbarrow, Christie, Mafi.
Replacements: Fletcher, Hancock, Palframan, Baker, Gordon, Elliott, Chamberlain, Clark.
Sin-bin: Arnold (52).
Bath: van Wyk, Frost, Griffin, Richards, Molony, Bayliss, Staddon, Reid (c), Carr-Smith, Carreras, Hennessey, Butt, Harris, Cokanasiga, de Glanville.
Replacements: Dunn, Obano, du Toit, Hill, Underhill, Spencer, Redpath, Barbeary.
Referee: Hamish Smales.
