A drowning man will clutch any piece of driftwood and Bath can finally sense salvation. In their famous heyday a nervous home win over Leeds would have been greeted with a dismissive shrug but on Saturday night there was no hiding the genuine wave of relief sweeping across the Rec.
Defeat would almost certainly have meant no Premiership rugby beside the River Avon next season as well as chastening trips to Plymouth Albion and Otley. It may still happen if Bath lose all their three remaining games and Leeds and Harlequins scramble at least one more win apiece but the odds have tilted significantly. Anyone doubting how much it all meant should have seen the bear-hugs which followed Olly Barkley's injury-time match-clinching try.
Such a celebratory outcome was by no means certain at half-time with the score 6-6 and a gritty Leeds showing no signs of surrender. What Bath have finally relocated, however, is a determination which overrode their frequent lack of penetration and the England centre Mike Tindall, playing his third bruising game in six days, was one of many willing to go through the pain barrier.
Tindall revealed later he had been running on empty for most of the game before detailing how low morale had sunk during the bleak midwinter. "We got to the stage where we weren't playing well and we were bitching about it," he acknowledged, praising the former Wallaby hooker Michael Foley's recent team-bonding efforts. "He doesn't expect us to go out and win every week but he does expect us to go out and fight for each other."
Foley, who may find himself working alongside the former United States Eagles coach Jack Clark, a strong candidate to become Bath's director of rugby, made it clear soon after arriving that he detected a lack of professionalism in the squad. He now feels his players have got the message. "It's not pretty football but the team is doing something it's not done all season, which is fighting for 80 minutes," he said. "We've improved in many areas but the threat of relegation is still very much alive. We're not getting carried away."
Quite right too, for this was a classic example of how all-pervasive tension can wrap its tentacles around a game and stifle everyone's best intentions. Iain Balshaw, encouraged by two monster drop-goals against London Irish in midweek, missed five attempts here; luckily for his team the Leeds pack, badly missing the injured Tom Palmer and suspended Chris Murphy, could never quite match the desire of Dan Lyle, Danny Grewcock and Mark Regan among Bath's forwards.
Ultimately, though, it was the fresh-faced Barkley, just 20, who made the most telling contribution. Simon Danielli's try came after the youngster's diagonal punt had been touched in flight by Dan Hyde, yielding a lineout from which the wing broke Japie Mulder's tackle to score under the posts. Barkley also supplied three penalties - including one complete mishit - and two conversions to add to his impressive late weave through the Tykes' rearguard.
Even narrow survival, though, will not dispel Bath's medium-term concerns; the chief executive Andrew Brownsword's programme notes were notably terse and the former captain Ben Clarke was publicly critical of the club's directors yesterday.
The Leeds director of rugby Phil Davies has more urgent concerns. "People are going to write us off and that's their prerogative but we're not going to throw in the towel," he insisted. Leeds' trip to Harlequins on May 3 remains a huge game but Bath should now be spared that desperate sinking feeling.
Bath: Thirlby; Voyce, Tindall, Barkley, Danielli; Balshaw, Cooper (Dalzell, 60); Barnes (Mallett, 65), Regan (Mears, 73), Emms, Borthwick, Grewcock, Scaysbrook (N Thomas, 46), Gabey (G Thomas, 46), Lyle (capt).
Tries: Danielli, Barkley. Cons : Barkley 2. Pens: Barkley 3.
Leeds: Benson; Scarbrough, Mulder (Hall, 63), Van Straaten, Woof; Bachop, Benton; Shelley (capt), Rawlinson, Kerr (Wring, 58), Jones (Hogg, 58), P Murphy, Mather, Hyde, Feaunati (Clarke, 63).
Pens: Van Straaten 4.
Referee: C White (Cheltenham).
Attendance: 8,129.
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