Coach Steve Meehan was delighted to see his Bath side sink neighbours Bristol 28-13 at the Recreation Ground.
Derby success delights Bath coach as Bristol pay for slow start
Coach Steve Meehan was delighted to see his Bath side sink neighbours Bristol 28-13 at the Recreation Ground.
Olly Barkley kicked 13 points while Andrew Higgins, Michael Lipman and Matthew Banahan all scored tries for the hosts.
The victory means Bath are sitting pretty in second spot in the table, a point behind current leaders Gloucester.
Exceeding expectations
"After seven matches now we have probably exceeded expectations," claimed Meehan.
"If we keep our feet on the ground, if we believe in ourselves, results will continue to come our way.
"If you compare us with where we were this time last year we've come on in leaps and bounds."
Boosted by South African star Butch James making his home debut, Bath raced out into a 17-0 lead and never looked like surrendering it.
Bristol boss Richard Hill admitted that such a big deficit was just too much for his team to overcome, despite a late fightback that saw David Lemi score.
Battled bravely
"We lost the game in the first 20 minutes when we went 17-0 down," said the former Bath scrum-half.
"We fought bravely but once Bath got their tales up it was going to be very difficult.
"They are a very good side and perhaps should have scored more.
"With David Lemi's try there was just a chance we might get back into it but they upped the pace again."
Despite the victory over Stade Francais in the Heineken Cup last Sunday, Hill admits repeating the success of last season is a tall order.
Bristol were the surprise package in the Guinness Premiership in the previous campaign, reaching the play-offs thanks to a top-four finish.
However, Hill is not confident history can be repeated, adding: "We are not necessarily expecting to be in the top four this year.
"We've got virtually the same squad but it was a conscious decision that our money would be spent on funding our fantastic new training facilities which cost some £700,000.
"Next year perhaps we will have resources to build the squad again. We've got to do that if they club is to move on."
