Abendanon - Forwards won it

Abendanon: forward thinking

That's probably the worst that I've played in - the water was just on top of the pitch and it wasn't sinking in - it was a boggy mess.

Nick Abendanon
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Bath full-back Nick Abendanon paid tribute to his side's forwards after the 10-5 victory against Gloucester in heavy conditions at the Recreation Ground.

The only game went ahead after a 15-minute delay to allow the groundstaff extra time to clear standing water off the playing surface.

Bath dominated possession and territory to take the win and cut the gap on Gloucester at the top of the Guinness Premiership to just two points.

"It's amazing when you've got a group of boys like that who get you on the front foot," Abendanon told Sky Sports.

"It makes life a whole lot easier for us even when the mud is as bad as it was.

Boggy mess

"That's probably the worst that I've played in - the water was just on top of the pitch and it wasn't sinking in - it was a boggy mess."

Abendanon created Bath's only try for Joe Maddock in the 61st minute, picking out the unmarked winger with a pinpoint kick after the ball had come loose from a ruck.

But he admitted it was not his peripheral vision that was the decisive factor in the score, instead he was acting on a shout from team-mate Olly Barkley.

"I didn't see that (Maddock unmarked) at all - I just heard the call for Olly Barkley," he added.

Hooker Lee Mears felt Bath had got their just reward for a willingness to stick to an expansive game-plan.

"We didn't know where the points were going to come from in that weather so we are over the moon to come away with a win," said Mears.

"We've tried to play all season...as long as we keep on the front foot the boys outside can do a lot of damage."

No complaints

Gloucester head coach Dean Ryan had no complaints about the result, stating: "The margins are so small that sometimes you have to accept what has happened and then move forward.

"It doesn't affect the bigger picture or the direction we are moving in.

"It is important that we don't allow it to affect us. If we had said there were seven or eight things we didn't do very well then fair enough, but there weren't."

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