For a game that for the most part was not much of anything, this turned into something with quite a lot of everything. This late development included a collision that laid out Ayoola Erinle, one of those injuries that left the replacement motionless in the middle of the pitch surrounded by stretcher-bearing paramedics, while all the other players rather self-consciously tried to keep warm.
This was an injury in injury time, making the extension to normal time a mini-drama in itself. It interrupted a storm of activity. Wasps, for the first time, were putting their game together and chasing a three-point deficit. So, we had some concern and some excitement at the end.
But not much of either until then. The match started as if both teams intended to outdo Orrell and Northampton in their 99-point tie. Bath scored a peach of a try when Iain Balshaw purred past Martyn Wood in the second minute to score his fourth try in three games since his return from injury. The rest has been protracted, especially since in the bread and butter of the Premiership, Bath have been blunted in attack. Balshaw, in the Parker Pen and the Powergen, seems to have re-energised them.
Wasps were never likely to be thrown by the concession of an early try. They responded immediately with a series of heavyweight shunts at the opposite end, which resulted in a penalty try when Gareth Cooper tried to kick the ball out of a scrum. The stage seemed set for Bath invention to be pitched against Wasps muscle.
Instead, it descended into a mess. Wasps lost their line-out for the next hour and lost the ball in contact. Bath tried to be constructive, but found themselves living on scraps and were forced on to the defensive. One of those defensive moments included a try-saving tackle by prop David Barnes on Kenny Logan.
Bath did alter their balance at one key moment. At half-time they changed their half-backs - Olly Barkley went to full-back for Balshaw - and within 20 seconds of the restart Andy Williams fed Chris Malone who nipped clean through for the try that left Wasps 10 points adrift. Worse was to come for the home team when Barkley added his second penalty. Thirteen points down and still no line-out.
In fact, they still had no shape to their game anywhere. Lawrence Dallaglio is still a shadow of his former self and although Robert Howley's appearance further kept Bath on a diet of scraps, there was no sense that a turnaround was likely.
But slowly, slowly they forced themselves downfield. And finally Trevor Leota began to find his jumpers. In fact, the barrel of a hooker put his hands on the ball infield as well as at the throwing point. He buried himself in a drawn-out drive and it was his chiselled face that emerged last from the pile on the line. Alex King had to convert to bring his team to within a converted try of a win, and he duly did from the touchline.
The game was nicely teed up at last. And now there was a real edge to the Wasps running. Legs pounded. Except that their hands still let them down. Erinle dropped a ball as he banged forcefully into midfield, King dropped a pass that he was about to turn into a drop-goal attempt and Logan saw a kick that might have been a cue to counter-attack slip through his fingers into touch.
Bath watched as Wasps continued to malfunction. They kept trotting around while Erinle was taken away and then they returned to their tackles. With this new resolution they may yet make an impact in the new year. Santa may not be so kind on the Wasps. Their first present is likely to be an uncheery tongue-lashing from their coaches.
Wasps: Lewsey; Roiser (Van Gisbergen 45), Waters (Erinle 55; Beardshaw 86), Abbott, Logan; King, Wood (Howley 45); Dowd, Leota, Green, Shaw, Birkett, Dallaglio (capt), Volley, Scrivener (Lock 35).
Bath: Balshaw (Malone ht); Danielli, Maggs, Tindall, Voyce; Barkley (Perry 65), Cooper (A Williams ht); Barnes, Humphreys (Long 55), Mallett (Galasso 47), Borthwick, Grewcock (capt), G Thomas (Beattie 75), Vander (Scaysbrook 66), N Thomas.
Referee: A Rowden (RFU).
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