Scotland’s fly-half Finn Russell had spoken about his desire to claim the pre-Six Nations bragging rights at the expense of several good mates in the Edinburgh squad. There was never the slightest doubt his wish would be granted as Bath eased to a comprehensive nine-try victory that guarantees pool winner status plus a home draw in the last 16 and, potentially, beyond.
On this occasion Russell also had the luxury of an armchair ride behind a Bath pack who took an early grip on the contest and never let go. Even if Edinburgh had turned up in north-east Somerset with their best side, as opposed to resting a few senior men, they would have been hard pressed to put too many dents in the black-shirted tanks and electric sprinters parked up opposite.
There will be sterner tests ahead against stronger opposition but, first and foremost, there was no disputing the unflinching mood of Bath’s tight forwards or their forceful No 8 Alfie Barbeary. All three of the hosts’ starting front row registered tries from a collective range of about four metres and a close-quarters penalty try also summed up their hard-nosed modus operandi in the first half. Those who had paid to watch Russell run through his extensive range of tricks mostly had to wait until the final quarter for Bath to cut loose and allow their quality backs like Max Ojomoh and Henry Arundell to show their class.
Bath’s head coach Johann van Graan is not a fan of the theory that his side have been playing less flowing and ambitious rugby since their former attack coach Lee Blackett left to join England at the start of the season. As long as his side keep winning it is not a significant problem and this was another of those nights when Bath’s forward power was unanswerable.
Two tries within four minutes in the first quarter set the heavy metal tone, Thomas du Toit nabbing the first following a tapped penalty before a penalty try robbed Barbeary of the individual glory he thought he had claimed moments earlier. The No 8 looks fitter and more purposeful this season, both of which will be prerequisites if he is to give the England management a successful nudge.
Edinburgh were game but, aside from an early penalty from Ross Thompson, they were not frequent visitors to the Bath 22. It did not help when their Scottish international hooker Ewan Ashman departed injured inside the first half hour, robbing them of a gnarled campaigner with plenty of experience of playing in England.
To nobody’s surprise it was the signal for Bath to start turning the screw. From another good close-range position there was no stopping Beno Obano from crashing over and, at 21-3, it was already case of damage limitation for the visitors. Who needs to attack endlessly out wide when the gate through the middle is proving so effective?
That said, a balanced game will be required when the bigger knockout games come around. Bath, from that perspective, really should have had a fourth try when Ojomoh opted to go it alone rather than using Ben Spencer on his outside and were soon cursing their profligacy. A snaking break from the athletic Harry Paterson put Ben Vellacott into space at the other end and a smart angled line from Piers O’Conor earned Edinburgh a lovely try.
It was just a temporary blip as Bath swiftly restored order in now familiar fashion. The visitors did their collective best to repel the onrushing waves on their own try-line but there was an inevitability to the eventual score by Tom Dunn, clearly keen to join his fellow front-rowers on to the scoresheet.
The only question was whether Bath might look to widen their focus slightly more in the second half. They clearly have the players to do so and England’s coaches will have enjoyed the sight of Ojomoh throwing a sweet left-to-right pass out to Joe Cokanasiga, who spun out of the tackle for a cracking score.
Cokanasiga, who finished with a brace of tries, also set up Bath’s sixth try, thundering through the middle before sending his skipper Spencer over untouched. The rest was a blur of one-way traffic by a home side who have the artillery to go much further this season if their key men can stay fit.