Another defeat on a day of ceaseless rain and the storm clouds are gathering over a sunken Bath. Eight successive games without a victory represents the worst Premiership run by the club that used to lord it over the rest of the land but who nowadays have a below-stairs air about them.
Brian Smith, their Australian assistant coach, stayed with the wet-weather theme. "We're not looking for scapegoats. This is not some sort of witch-hunt but this weekend was a watershed for some of the players on last chances. There were too many individuals who just didn't turn up today."
Bath are the lowest scorers in the Premiership and what was so depressing for the band of supporters who braved the skid-pad that was the M4 on Saturday was how rarely the visitors threatened the Quins line. Mark Evans, the Harlequins coach, said: "After the first 20 minutes when we were dire, I couldn't see them scoring, to be brutally honest."
Bath's increasingly disgruntled followers were once more confronted by the reality of the last couple of seasons. That when Mike Catt is away, Bath don't play - or at least don't play very well.
Clive Woodward was this morning planning to name Catt in his squad to face the All Blacks on Saturday. But the fly-half failed a fitness test on Saturday morning on an injured hamstring and had to watch this game from the stands.
Smith added: "Catty wanted to play, there was no question of him resting the injury but our physio made a decision that he should sit the game out and he will struggle to train early in the week. How badly did he want to play here? Well, we practically had to handcuff him."
Catt was replaced by the Australian Chris Malone who Smith admitted was "no Mike Catt". Malone is a solid enough player but not one to spark a backline and in these conditions Bath's international centre Kevin Maggs and Mike Tindall barely got a decent run between them.
Smith pinpointed problems in the Bath three although Matt Perry, only recently returning from injury, is immune from criticism. But up front things are not clicking at the moment. Dan Lyle, their American flanker, is a shadow of the player he was, Steve Borthwick is also feeling his way back from injury and was ineffective again and Danny Grewcock apart, Bath lack a really powerful ball-carrier in their pack. Tindall completed a gloomy afternoon for Bath when he limped off with a calf injury 10 minutes before time but he is expected to be fit if selected by England today.
The Quins forwards, with the former South Africa captain Andre Vos making an impressive debut at open-side after only a couple of training sessions with his new team-mates, were always in the ascendancy.
The game was settled in a seven-minute spell just before the break when the Bath pack was reduced to seven, Simon Emms having been sent to the sin-bin by Ashley Rowden for pulling down a maul.
Will Greenwood, who may yet line up alongside Catt in England centre this weekend, scored their first try, crashing over on the blind-side after a drive by the pack. Greenwood, filling in at fly-half, then made the second with a perfect cut-out pass for Viliame Satala to send Matt Moore over in the corner in first-half injury-time. Greenwood made a decent fist of being a stand-in stand-off but Quins will be relieved when Paul Burke returns after knee surgery, which may be against Wasps on Sunday week.
The second try had been started by the scrum-half Nick Duncombe's little double side-step. Duncombe deservedly won the man-of-the-match award. After winning two caps last spring he may be fourth in the England No9 pecking-order but his coach is impressed.
Evans said: "Duncombe is twice the player he was last season. He was thrust into the international arena because injuries meant there was a dearth of scrum-halves at the time but one day he will hold the England shirt down for a number of years. He is very powerful which is why his acceleration is so good."
Evans maintains this improving Quins side has strength in depth and is "less exposed" than it was. In the wet on Saturday, though, Bath look as exposed as a sand castle at high tide.
Harlequins: Williams; Moore, Satala, Greenstock, Gollings; Greenwood, Duncombe; Leonard (capt), Fuga, Gomez (Starr, 54), Davison, Codling, Tiatia, Vos, Diprose.
Tries: Greenwood, Moore. Con: Williams. Pens: Williams 2.
Sin-bin: Davison, 15.
Bath: Perry; Danielli (Voyce, 47), Maggs, Tindall (Crockett, 71), Barkley; Malone, Cooper; Emms, Humphreys (Long, 67), Galasso (Scaysbrook, 47), Borthwick, Grewcock (capt), Scaysbrook (Mallett, 38), Lyle (Beattie, h-t), N Thomas (Lloyd, 63).
Pens: Barkley 3.
Sin-bin: Emms, 33.
Attendance: 8,311. Referee: A Rowden (Berkshire).
