Gloucester maintained their grip at the top of the Premiership and added to Bath's woes after seeing off their brave opponents 29-16.

Fly-half Ludovic Mercier once again guided them home, kicking 19 points through five penalties and conversions of second-half tries by hooker Olivier Azam and wing Marcel Garvey.

But Bath belied such lowly and embarrassing Premiership status, giving Gloucester a major fright and mocking pre-match predictions of a landslide home victory.

Mike Catt, an attacking menace from start to finish, dropped two goals, with lock Steve Borthwick scoring a try and wing Olly Barkley booting the rest of Bath's points.

Bath were even denied a bonus point, thanks to Garvey's late solo dash, and they remain 12th and last, with just six matches - against Northampton, London Irish, Saracens, Newcastle, Wasps and Bristol Shoguns - left.

The visitors arrived at a sold-out Kingsholm after plunging to the Premiership basement, courtesy of Newcastle's 17-12 victory over Leeds last night.

And they faced a Herculean task against the runaway league leaders, who went into battle eight points above second-placed Sale Sharks.

Bath, victims of a club record 68-12 defeat on their last Kingsholm visit ninemonths ago, were without Wales RBS 6 Nations squad members Gareth Cooper and Gavin Thomas due to training commitments, so Andy Williams deputised at scrum-half and James Scaysbrook replaced Thomas on the bench.

England centre Mike Tindall returned after missing Bath's game against Leicester last weekend because of a hip injury, while Gloucester preferred Junior Paramore to James Forrester in the back-row, and Jake Boer skippered the side, with Phil Vickery sidelined through a back injury.

Bath made the early running as flankers Adam Vander and Andy Beattie launched rampaging raids into Gloucester territory, but Mercier's trusty left boot ensured a 3-0 lead on 13 minutes.

Mercier, who passed 500 Premiership points for Gloucester in just 36 games last weekend, doubled the advantage four minutes later, leaving Bath to ponder an early deficit.

But their response was both committed and courageous, stunning Gloucester through a 10-point burst in just five minutes.

Catt dropped a short-range goal, before his brilliant 60m break from just outside Bath's 22 had Gloucester defenders retreating at a rate of knots.

Gloucester looked to have cleared the initial danger, yet Bath won ruck ball and spun possession wide, allowing Borthwick a rare try which Barkley converted.

A stunned silence engulfed Kingsholm, especially as Gloucester boasted total control at the set-scrums, but Bath's superior lineout through the work of Borthwick and England's Danny Grewcock kept the visitors powering forward.

Mercier completed his penalty hat-trick three minutes before the break, and Bath trooped off at half-time reduced to 14 men after referee Tony Spreadbury sin-binned prop John Mallett following a forward skirmish.

With Mallett off the field, Gloucester knew that they had to make it count on the scoreboard, and their opening try duly arrived on 49 minutes.

Bath found themselves under siege, and when Gloucester drove a close-range line-out, French international Azam claimed the touchdown underneath a pile of bodies.

Mercier nonchalantly landed the touchline conversion but Bath were determined not to roll over and Catt's second drop-goal put them back in contention at 16-13 adrift.

Another Mercier penalty, this time after Bath's backs drifted offside, suggested that Gloucester would finally start putting distance between the teams, who were separated by 33 Premiership points and 11 places before kick-off.

But Bath kept plugging away, reducing the arrears to three points through a Barkley penalty that kept alive the prospect of an upset.

Mercier ensured that the Bath dream remained exactly that though, slotting penalty number five and then converting Garvey's 80th-minute try.

Gloucester 29
Tries: Marcel Garvey, Olivier Azam
Conv: Ludovic Mercier 2
Pen: Ludovic Mercier 5

Bath 16
Try: Steve Borthwick
Conv: Ollie Barkley
Pen: Ollie Barkley
Drop Goals: Mike Catt 2

Half time: 9-10