The sun was shining as Bath Gladiators welcomed Reading Raiders and Spectators to Farmborough Rec for the first time last Saturday. It was an opportunity for Matt Bodeys’ team who had lost the first 2 matches of the season to secure their first win of the season. Whilst Reading on the other hand, had started the season in electrifying form with a convincing win against Oxford before hammering Swindon St George 92-4 in their previous West of England league match.
The Gladiators welcomed back Michael Salter and Joe Cockshott from injury with Rich Marlow and Sam Adey making their Bath Gladiator debuts. The game started at a high tempo and Reading quickly showed why they dominated Swindon so badly going over first in the 4th minute for the games first try.
Bath refused to be intimidated and were once again showcasing some of their impressive play this season and were rewarded in the 10th Minute as Michael Salter brushed off a number of tackles to crash over the line. Josh Frost added the extras to level the scores.
From this moment the game settled into a familiar pattern with both teams trading blow after blow with some moments of great play from both teams. A second Reading try was cancelled out by Joe Cockshotts’ first of the afternoon for the Gladiators. Reading finished the half with the upper hand after referee Malcolm Holmes awarded them a penalty try following a Bath foul in the build up.
Bath Gladiators trailed at half-time for the first time this season and once again were counting the cost of game-day injuries as the Gladiators physio was kept busy before the second-half got underway. It has been the story of the season so far, the Gladiators having a number of game injuries meaning that they are short on interchanges come the end of the game.
The second half began as equally enthralling as the first as Bath took the initiative and were rewarded by 2 more tries from Cockshott in his trademark scoot and dot down fashion to complete his hat-trick for the afternoon and give Bath Gladiators a 24-20 advantage. However, the Gladiators were down to bare bones again as Steve Randall (limped off) leaving them with 4 injured players on the sidelines meaning that the team had to see out the final 25 minutes with no available interchanges.
In the final quarter of the game the pattern of the first half returned with both teams trading blows. A third Raiders try was quickly cancelled out by Jack Dryden in the 60th minute with Frost missing the conversion. The bruising encounter reached a head in the 65th minute with one of the Reading players receiving a yellow card for serious foul play after losing his composure in the tackle.
The key moment of the game came in the 70th minute with the Gladiators left to rue the decision to kick for 2 points rather than try to push for the line as a late Reading Try in the 75th minute gave them a narrow 28-32 victory.
Both sets of players were full of compliments for each other after the game and the spectators, returning for the first time had been served up a treat of a game. Reflecting on the game Matt Bodey commented “I have nothing but admiration for our boys for that performance. Both teams played some really good rugby and we showed we are just as good as a very good Reading side. In the end tiredness probably played its part for us and if we had been a bit more lucky with injuries today then I think we would have got the win. There is so many positives to take away from todays’ performance and if we play like that in the weeks ahead, then the wins will come.”
Joe Cockshott added “absolutely massive effort by the lads today. Reading are a really physical team but I think we more than matched them and we’re really unlucky not to come away with the win. On a personal note, its always special to score a hat-trick but its down to all the players who wore the shirt today.”
Bath Gladiators next game is away at Gloucester AllGolds next Saturday.