Aviva Premierships: Bath score five tries to dispatch London Welsh at the Rec
Bath pushed London Welsh closer to relegation from the Aviva Premiership with a 40-25 bonus-point victory at the Rec.
Last Updated: 30/03/13 4:53pm
Still smarting after losing their appeal this week against a five-point deduction and £15,000 fine over the Tyson Keats affair, Welsh stayed in the game until the closing stages despite eventually conceding five tries to one.
The home team's firepower behind the scrum ensured they always had the edge and retained their hopes of a top-six place.
The west country outfit stormed to a 20 point lead with three tries coming in the first 14 minutes of the game from Matt Banahan, Carl Fearns and Fijian
Semesa Rokoduguni with Stephen Donald adding the extra points.
But Welsh were not giving up hope without a fight as they fought their way back into the contest thanks to six penalties from the boot of scrum-half Alex Davies.
Bath then pulled away again as firstly, Donald struck his second penalty of the day before Argentina international Horacio Agulla went over the whitewash to open up a ten point lead.
The Exiles, who came into the contest having not won a match for four months, eventually scored their first try of the afternoon thanks to full-back Seb Jewell and Davies' conversion brought his tally to 20 points.
However, Heathcote restored Bath's two-score advantage with a 75th minute penalty.
Replacement scrum-half Michael Claassens increased the margin of victory with a minute remaining as Bath recorded their first success in three games.
