Bath celebrated their return to the Heineken Cup after a two-season absence with a convincing victory over Bourgoin. A margin of three tries to nil was a fair reflection of the home superiority. It was day for doing the basics well. For driving close to scrum, ruck and maul. For kicking for position and only spreading the play with the tryline in sight.
Recovering from a hesitant start, the 1998 Cup winners found the right tactics in simply awful conditions. A depressing scene greeted the visitors on their first trip to The Recreation Ground. The rain lashed down, the wind blew steadily and the surrounding Mendip Hills were covered in low cloud.
Still, with the wind at their backs, Bourgoin took the lead after five minutes. Outside-half Benjamin Boyet hit the bar with a long-range penalty, only for Bath flanker Andy Beattie to knock on the rebound. Bath's defence was equal to the first French attack from the scrum, but the second saw the ball returned to Boyet who landed a simple drop goal. Bath struggled to get out of their own half in the first quarter of an hour.
Boyet missed with another drop goal, before doubling the Bourgoin lead with a penalty after the home side were penalised at one of a series of scrums, which were rapidly disintegrating into farce.
Slowly, though, Bath began to get into the match. A scrummage infringement by the French allowed scrum-half Nick Walshe to make a break, and when Bourgoin strayed off-side at the subsequent maul Olly Barkley was left with a simple penalty in front of the post, 15 metres out.
Yet another drop-goal attempt from Boyet fell just short, and when he pushed a penalty wide on the half-hour mark Bourgoin must have regretted the calf injury that had ruled out their leading kicker, Alexandre Peclier.
The misses looked even more expensive five minutes later when Bath put together the first piece of fluent rugby. The forwards started it with Beattie bursting into the 22. The backs maintained the momentum, Chris Malone and Mike Tindall both featuring prominently, and when the England centre was halted he found prop Matt Stevens at close quarters to drive the remaining 10 metres to the line. Barkley added the conversion to give the home side a four-point advantage.
That was reduced to just one as Boyet managed to land a penalty from just inside the Bath half. Barkley failed to restore the margin, when his penalty sliced wide on the stroke of half-time, but in the lead and with the wind in their favour in the second period the home side enjoyed the interval far more than their opponents.
Surprisingly it was Bourgoin who started the second period better, only for Boyet to slice yet another drop goal. Bath cleared down the field, left wing Jean-François Coux made a terrible mess of his relieving kick, and a series of sweeping Bath moves, with Barkley looping cleverly, released Beattie for the second try. Barkley superbly added the conversion from wide out.
With half an hour to go the match was effectively decided, even though Boyet kicked a third penalty three minutes later, but with flanker Nicolas Bontinck being sent to the sin bin the respite was temporary.
Facing 14 men, a sustained drive by the Bath pack, followed by smooth passing through the backs, produced the third try for left-wing Brendon Daniel.
With 15 minutes remaining Bath must have been confident of claiming a fourth try and with it a bonus point. They were denied, though, by some spirited Bourgoin tackling. The French never stopping trying and even had the final scoring chance, only for Boyet to hook an admittedly difficult penalty.
His first half misses, however, had proved decisive, and Bath now find themselves back where they belong - competing and winning at the highest levels of European club rugby.
BATH: Malone; Higgins, Fleck (Crockett 78), Tindall, Daniel; Barkley, Walshe (Wood 66); Barnes, Mears, Stevens (Bell 73), Borthwick (capt), Grewcock (Fidler 70), Beattie, Scaysbrook, Fea'unati (Delve 66).
BOURGOIN: A Forest; Esterhuizen, Venditti, Davis, Coux (Soucaze 60); Boyet, M Forest (Albina 74); Milloud, Cabello, Peyron (Pucciariello 60), Mazel, Pape, Bontinck, Bonnaire, Raschi (capt).
Referee: R Dickson (Scotland).
