England star scores four as Bath hand Newcastle another hiding

Henry Arundell scored four tries as Bath tightened their grip on second place in the Gallagher Prem with a dominant 69-12 home victory over Newcastle.

By ending a run of three straight losses, Bath closed to within four points of leaders Northampton while pulling six points clear of third-placed Leicester ahead of the Tigers’ clash with Sale on Sunday and crunch trip to the Recreation Ground.

England wing Arundell crossed twice as Bath were unstoppable in racing to a 31-0 lead with five tries before half-time and Santiago Carreras was among those who got in on the act with six more following the break.

Newcastle finally managed to respond with a brace of tries from Alex Hearle but there was no real crumb of comfort the Red Bulls could take from another heavy defeat.
Ted Hill got the scoring under way for Bath when he dived across the line in the corner in the eighth minute after fine work by Charlie Ewels.

It was swiftly followed by the first of Arundell’s tries as he collected Cameron Redpath’s pass and raced over with 12 minutes on the clock.

England wing Arundell doubled his tally midway through the first half after neat link-up play with Finn Russell, who this time nailed the conversion to make it 17-0.

More excellent play by Russell contributed towards Redpath’s score in the 24th minute and Josh Bayliss got in on the act two minutes later.

It ensured Bath held a huge lead at the break but Newcastle returned with improved intensity and were able to get off the mark after 57 minutes when Hearle finished off after fine initial carry by Amanaki Mafi.

Newcastle’s solitary try sparked Bath back into life and Arundell completed a hat-trick with a smart burst of pace in the corner before the visitors responded.

During an end-to-end period, Hearle grabbed his second score for Newcastle and Carreras went over for Bath for a fourth try of the match in a seven-minute period.

Bath finished with aplomb when Carreras collected Arundell’s pass to clinch his second try in the 68th minute and creator turned scorer four minutes later to round off a superb individual display.

Replacement hooker Dan Frost delighted the Rec crowd with a fine finish from 30 metres, but Chris Harris had the final say before Russell kicked the extras to secure a comprehensive triumph.