Red-hot Bath tame Wolves
The temperature may have been freezing but Bath Rugby's finishing was red hot as they signed off the Amlin Cup pool stage with a half- century of points against Bucharest Wolves.
The club's ground staff and supporters worked tooth and nail through Friday night to clear a snow-covered Rec and ensure the game went ahead.
And the players performed just as impressively once it was their turn to take to the field, with Jack Cuthbert leading the way by grabbing a third of the hosts' nine tries.
Youngsters Tom Dunn, Will Skuse and Chris Cook all made the most of their chance in the spotlight, crossing the whitewash as Bath achieved their target of top seeding for the quarter-finals, where they will host Stade Francais.
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"There was some really good finishing from Jack Cuthbert in particular," said first-team coach Mike Ford following Bath's sixth straight Pool 4 victory.
"The second try he got, he beat four players by handing them off and scored a 50m try, which is great. He did other good things as well but to get a hat-trick is very, very good.
"All week it was about the word tempo. We wanted to try to get speed into the game, knowing that they probably couldn't live with us.
"We did that by getting the first four tries on the board, then we came out in the second half and started well again.
"We played some good rugby, controlled the tempo of the game very well, scored nine tries and probably left a couple more out there."
University of Bath student Dunn set the ball rolling on his first start for the club, with the 20-year-old hooker charging over the whitewash after a lineout close to the visitors' line.
Florin Vlaicu got Bucharest on the board with a penalty from the restart but any worries that the hosts would have a fight on their hands were quickly dismissed.
A penalty try following a five- metre scrum put them on their way before Cuthbert crossed twice in quick succession.
His first was a simple close-range finish but the second saw him skip past a host of Bucharest players as he returned a clearing kick to the Wolves' tryline.
Horacio Agulla's touchdown got the second half under way before Gregorus Diaconescu dived over to provide the Romanian team with some solace.
Adrian Ion was sin-binned, though, and the momentum swung Bath's way once more as Nick Koster grabbed a simple try.
Cuthbert then completed his treble by finishing a fine team attack before touchdowns from Cook and Skuse ensured Bath passed the 50-point barrier.
In the absence of some of Bath's more established names, Ford was impressed by those who stepped up to make a name for themselves.
"Obviously Jack did well but I think a few people out there really put their hands up," he said.
"Olly Woodburn played really well on the wing. He made some great ground and got away some good offloads.
"Ben Williams also played well and Tom Dunn went well again. To see the improvement from where he's come from at the start of the season is brilliant."
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