Worcester Warriors 23-24 Bath Rugby, Sixways
Booth relieved after late win
ESPN Staff
September 2, 2012
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Worcester lock James Percival powers forward, Worcester Warriors v Bath Rugby, Aviva Premiership, Sixways, Worcester, England, September 1, 2012
James Percival scored the only try of the game © Getty Images
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Bath coach Toby Booth was relieved after his side snatched a 24-23 victory over Worcester in their Aviva Premiership opener on Saturday.

A last-minute penalty from Olly Barkley - one of eight from the former England fly-half - secured the points for Bath, who shipped the game's only try, to Warriors lock James Percival.

Worcester led 15-6 at the end of the first-half, with Andy Goode on song from the boot after Bath lost Matt Banahan and skipper Stuart Hooper to the sin-bin in the opening period.

"It wasn't pretty. From where we were at half-time we did very well to bounce back," Booth said. "We had no ball at all in the first half and Andy Goode's monster right boot kept pegging us back and we couldn't get out of our half.

"We showed great resilience to get back into the game and nick it at the end. At half-time we knew we had to adjust and it was a complete reversal of the first 20 minutes."

The Warriors failed to capitalise on their territorial dominance and only had themselves to blame for defeat thanks to a terrible penalty count.

"We shot ourselves in both feet," head coach Richard Hill said. "It was a game that we should have won. We allowed them back into the game by conceding six penalties in a nine-minute period early in the second-half which enabled them to draw level.

"The referee was particularly hot at players not rolling away from the tackle area and those penalties cost us the game. Bath have the best defence in the league but we should have scored more before half-time and put them away."

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