Bath and Banahan run hot

Matt Banahan ran in four tries as Bath crushed Pool 4 whipping boys Aironi 55-16 at the Rec.

Left wing Tom Biggs and skipper Luke Watson weighed in with two tries apiece as Bath ran riot, although it was all without consequence with Ulster and Biarritz battling it out at the top of the pool table.

Aironi allowed England star Banahan to collect Olly Barkley's kick-off virtually unchallenged and then quickly infringed, giving Barkley the chance to open the scoring with a second-minute penalty.

But the visitors replied immediately with a successful kick from an even shorter distance by Kiwi fly-half James Marshall.

It was Watson's rampaging run, ball tucked under one arm, that led to the first try on eight minutes.

The move seemed to have broken down before left wing Biggs picked up the loose ball and rounded his opposite number to score, although Barkley's conversion attempt was wide.

Marshall pulled the scores back to 8-6 with his second penalty when James was pulled up for obstruction.

Watson got the scoreboard moving again on 20 minutes, picking a good line from Michael Claassens' pass to score by the posts, Barkley this time adding the conversion.

Poor concentration nearly cost Bath from the restart but they regrouped to add another try through Biggs, finishing off excellent work on the right by Banahan and Abendanon.

Bonus point

No sooner had Barkley added the conversion than Banahan earned the bonus point, racing 60 metres through weak tackling from an offload by Shontayne Hape.

The Italians launched a spirited assault on the home line to pull back a try through flanker Josh Sole on 35 minutes, converted by Marshall.

But their defensive failings surfaced again moments later when the cover parted in front of Banahan and Barkley's conversion gave Bath a 36-13 interval lead.

A yellow card for Hape, seemingly for persistent team infringements, rekindled hope for Aironi early in the second half and Marshall kicked a penalty, but Banahan collected his hat-trick on 52 minutes, stretching through a tackle to score. Barkley added the conversion.

No sooner had Hape returned than the visitors lost former Gloucester lock Marco Bortolami to the sin-bin.

Bath camped on the Aironi line and just when it seemed they must score, former Saracens centre Rod Penney intercepted the final pass. Ignacio Fernandez-Lobbe spilled the ball in a tackle under the posts and then Bath were penalised at the scrum.

Bortolami returned but almost immediately Banahan kicked ahead and won the race to the touchdown.

Skirving was denied another try by an obstruction call but man-of-the-match Watson completed the scoring with an eighth Bath try three minutes from time.