Premiership: Bath 27-24 London Irish - Orlando Bailey seals late victory

Orlando Bailey was perfect from the tee landing all five of his kicks

Orlando Bailey's late penalty saw Bath move off the bottom of the Premiership after a 27-24 win over London Irish.

The lead changed three times in in an exciting first half as the two sides shared five tries with Agustin Creevy's score with the final play putting the Exiles 17-14 up at the break.

Creevy's second came shortly after the break but a Bailey penalty and a Will Muir try tied it with 15 minutes left.

But Bailey kept his composure four minutes from time to seal four points.

The win means Bath move three points clear of Worcester and level on points with 11th-placed Newcastle after their loss at home to leaders Leicester.

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Bath had Charlie Ewels sin-binned for a late tackle in the sixth minute and Ben Loader took advantage two minutes later as he went over in the corner before Nick Phipps spilled a chance for a second try soon after.

Kyle Rowe got a second Irish try midway through the half as he snuck through a gap to score in the corner before he was put into touch as he aimed for a second not long after.

The game was the final match for Ireland and British Lions forward Sean O'Brien who has now retired

But two tries in as many minutes from Bath changed the game - Mike Williams went over under the posts before Taulupe Faletau gathered the kick-off, broke through and set Ben Spencer free to score for a 14-10 lead.

Two Creevy tries from close range either side of the break pushed Irish into a 22-14 lead before Muir pounced on Max Clark's grubber kick for his eighth try of the season.

Bailey's second penalty won it, but not before Irish saw Matt Cornish forced into touch two metres from the line in the closing moments.

Bath head coach Neal Hatley:

"We got a little loose in the first 25 minutes. We had talked all week about playing a much more structured game and we didn't.

"But I thought the leadership from Charlie [Ewels], Ben Spencer and Orlando Bailey to pull that back and to play the game we wanted to play and end up with the result, I'm really pleased.

"There have been lots of issues around injuries and little bits of tactical coaching. Belief is hard when you've lost six or seven.

"I'm not saying it doesn't play a part - it definitely does. Whatever momentum and belief we can build into this group moving into next season is important."

London Irish director of rugby Declan Kidney:

"A missed tackle and failing to deal with a loose ball gave them 14 points and a lot of impetus.

"In the second half, they took their opportunities, so all credit to Bath.

"We knew they'd come out strong for a number of different reasons.

"It's been a busy week for us obviously, but we're making no excuses. It was frustrating, that's all."

Bath: De Glanville; Rokoduguni, Joseph, Clark, Cokanasiga; Bailey, Spencer; Morozov, Doughty, Stuart, Williams, Ewels (capt), Reid, Underhill, Faletau.

Replacements: Dunn, Obano, Fia, Richards, Coetzee, Simpson, Cipriani, Muir.

London Irish: Parton; Rowe, Rona, Van Rensburg, Loader; Jackson, Phipps (capt); Goodrick-Clarke, Creevy, Hoskins, Nott, Coleman, Donnell, Pearson, O'Brien.

Replacements: Cornish, Gigena, Van der Merwe, Munga, Cunningham-South, Gonzalez, White, Arundell.

Referee: Christophe Ridley