The modern realities of Europe were once again evident beside the River Avon. It is now 14 seasons since Bath were crowned Heineken Cup champions and this result all but ensured that their chances have evaporated for another year. Leinster have won the trophy twice in their past three attempts and show every sign of mounting a serious challenge this time.
If anything the scoreline flattered the home side. Had the champions not spurned two overlaps which should have yielded comfortable tries, the outcome would have been settled earlier and highlighted Bath's lack of penetration all the more. The hosts may have scored the only try of a hard-edged match but Leinster displayed more wit and precision.
For Bath's millionaire owner, Bruce Craig, this state of affairs is becoming deeply frustrating. His club have now lost five of their past six matches in all competitions and they are 10th in the Aviva Premiership. This was a pivotal game in their season and the encouragement to be drawn from an improved team performance cannot mask continuing injury problems. They could not muster a replacement hooker and their Kiwi playmaker, Stephen Donald, remains some way short of full match fitness.
The watching England coach, Stuart Lancaster, and his Irish counterpart, Declan Kidney, will also have noticed the difference between the teams in terms of impact off the bench and finishing power. Cian Healy, Devin Toner and Shane Jennings, all Ireland forwards, made a difference when they came on, punishing desperate opponents who finished the game with their captain, Francois Louw, in the sin-bin. With only six days to recover before the return fixture at the Aviva Stadium, Sir Ian McGeechan's team are going to have to dig extremely deep to prevent Leinster wrapping up Pool Three before Christmas.
McGeechan preferred to focus on the visitors' strengths, stressing that Leinster's coolness in the heat of battle is not something you can pluck out of a Christmas catalogue.
"They got the ball into the right areas and put the pressure on," he said. "We just need a bit of composure at key times. It's taken Leinster three to four years to get to that position. You don't get there overnight. Leinster have huge experience and good players in key positions. They bide their time and I thought they did that very well today."
The master coach also acknowledged that the Irish province had done a better job of slowing down Bath's ball than vice versa, with the French referee, Jérôme Garces, mostly laissez-faire at the breakdown. The result was a spate of pile-ups and a lack of midfield breathing space, although Bath were too lateral in attack.
"People talk about heads-up rugby but some of it's about recognising situations as they evolve," said McGeechan. "Talk to any player and they'll tell you the most difficult thing to cope with is quick ball. The challenge for referees is to recognise when people are trying to stop that and be much tougher on them."
Leinster possessed the sharper attacking threats and would have made life even harder for Bath had Rob Kearney, after a clever break, not ignored Isa Nacewa outside him. Instead Olly Barkley kicked his team into a 6-0 lead and it took a Jonathan Sexton penalty on half-time to get the Irish on the scoreboard. The second half was a different story and Bath were lucky not to concede seven points when the impressive Sean O'Brien barged through Donald, only to ignore three men outside him.
Slowly but surely Leinster turned the screw, forcing Bath to do an ominous amount of defending. With 15 minutes left, the home side finally stitched together a deft attacking move down the right and Matt Banahan stormed over following good work from Louw and Jack Cuthbert. Barkley's conversion gave Bath a 13-12 lead and salvation beckoned. Those wishing to impress Lancaster and his forwards coach, Graham Rowntree, who had already seen Harlequins well beaten at home by Toulouse on Friday, had the perfect opportunity.
Their hopes were swiftly dashed. Louw dived headlong into a ruck to offer Sexton another penalty shot in front of the posts and the South African then saw yellow for trying to tackle Eoin Reddan from an offside position. Sexton, calmness personified rounded things off with a sixth penalty from seven attempts and Leinster's thoroughly professional ram-raid was complete. Between now and mid-January Bath have to travel to Dublin, Northampton, Watford and Montpellier. Life is not going to get any easier.
Bath Abendanon; Cuthbert, Hipkiss (Vesty, 63), Barkley, Banahan; Donald, Claassens (Cook, 67); Flatman (Catt, 74), Biller, Wilson (Perenise, 74), Attwood, Caldwell, Louw (capt), Mercer, Taylor.
Try Banahan Con Barkley Pens Barkley 2.
Sin-bin Louw 74.
Leinster Kearney; Nacewa, McFadden, D'Arcy (O'Malley, 70), Fitzgerald; Sexton, Boss (Reddan, 63); Van der Merwe (Healy, h-t), Strauss (Cronin, 63), Ross (White, 63), Cullen (capt), Browne (Toner, 52), McLaughlin (Jennings, 52), O'Brien, Heaslip.
Pens Sexton 6.
Referee J Garces (France). Attendance 12,200.
