Bath edge Wasps in injury-time Champions Cup thriller

Highlights of the Champions Cup clash between Wasps and Bath

George Ford kicked a touchline conversion in the game's final play as Bath scored a dramatic 25-23 win over Wasps in the Champions Cup.

New England coach Eddie Jones watched on at the Ricoh Arena on Sunday as Ford added the extras to full-back Anthony Watson's try.

Image: Bath's George Ford celebrates his injury-time match-winning conversion

The score came in the third minute of stoppage time after Wasps were reduced to 13 men.

French referee Jerome Garces had yellow-carded flanker George Smith and substitute prop Lorenzo Cittadini for technical offences.

It followed earlier touchdowns by centre Jonathan Joseph and wing Matt Banahan, in addition to two Ford penalties and a conversion, as Bath made it two wins from two in Pool Five.

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Image: Ruaridh Jackson of Wasps kicks the game's first points

Wasps appeared to have done enough to preserve a 100 per cent group record following comprehensive victories over Leinster and Toulon.

Full-back Rob Miller's try midway through the second-half put Wasps ahead, while fly-half Ruaridh Jackson kicked four penalties, centre Elliot Daly landed a long-range strike and Jackson's replacement Jimmy Gopperth struck a late penalty.

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But it was not to be.

The game started at a breakneck pace. Bath wing Semesa Rokoduguni breached Wasps' defence, only to be called back after Garces spotted a knock-on.

Image: Bath's Matt Banahan crosses for a try

And Wasps then stormed upfield, utilising the blistering pace of Rokodoguni's opposite number Charles Piutau, before some last-gasp defence prevented a try.

It was a frantic contest in the early stages, with both sides tearing into each other after Jackson had kicked Wasps ahead.

Ford tied things up through an angled penalty, and then Bath claimed the game's opening try after a Wasps move broke down near halfway, enabling Joseph to sprint clear from 40 metres before Ford added the conversion to secure a 10-3 advantage.

Although Daly landed one of his trademark penalties from the halfway line that kept Wasps in touch, Bath added a second try after 23 minutes when Watson fielded a high kick near the touchline, found scrum-half Niko Matawalu in support, and he skipped past opposite number Joe Simpson's challenge to send Banahan over.

Ford could not land the conversion.

Wasps readily used number eight Nathan Hughes as their midfield focal point of attack, and on a number of occasions he ran purposefully into Bath territory, testing the visitors' defence.

And with Wasps finishing strongly before half-time, Bath conceded two penalties inside their 22 and Jackson made no mistake, converting both to cut the deficit to three points at the interval.

Image: Sailosi Tagicakibau of Wasps is tackled by Bath's Jonathan Joseph

Watson required treatment after suffering a knock early in the second period, and the game initially failed to recapture its first-half intensity.

But a long-range Ford penalty restored a six-point advantage for Bath, before the visitors looked to counter-attack from inside their own 22. Rokoduguni spilled possession and Piutau almost capitalised on his blunder, yet he was hauled down just two metres from the line.

Another Jackson penalty brought Wasps back to within three points, and Bath's defence was finally breached on 58 minutes.

Wasps, displaying far more composure with ball in hand than they had done during the first half, patiently went through the phases, biding their time before enough space appeared and Miller finished impressively wide out.

Jackson sent the touchline conversion attempt narrowly wide, but there was a clear urgency and defined accuracy about Wasps' game, meaning Bath needed to establish some kind of territorial foothold or face the prospect of defeat.

They could not find a way back into the game, though, and Gopperth's late penalty looked to have done enough for Wasps - but then came the late drama.

Image: George Ford celebrates his match-winning conversion
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