London Irish avoided a fourth successive English Premiership defeat after staging an immense fightback to deny play-off rivals Bath victory with a 20-20 at the Recreation Ground.
Bath, unbeaten at home since early October, left Irish reeling through first-half tries from lock Stuart Hooper, wing Matt Banahan and full-back Joe Maddock.
At 17-0 adrift, there appeared no way back for the Exiles, who spent most of a one-sided opening period in reverse gear.
Bath’s slick handling skills and tireless support work underpinned their healthy advantage, and they looked to have done enough.
But Irish had other ideas, slashing the deficit to four points after wing Adam Thompstone and centre Seilala Mapusua scored tries either side of a Shane Geraghty penalty.
A succession of unforced Bath errors contributed to making it a far more even encounter after the break, and the home side required a 68th-minute Butch James penalty to calm their nerves.
But it proved a brief respite, as Irish’s England international wing Topsy Ojo struck 10 minutes from time, leaving the Bath defence for dead during a weaving 30-metre run.
Geraghty added the extras, making it 20-20 to set up a nerve-shredding finale as both sides went for broke, but Bath were denied despite dominating late territory.
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