Bath Rugby top the table at Christmas for the second year in a row after a handsome 40-15 win away at Newcastle Falcons on Saturday evening.

It was a lively first half as Bath outscored Newcastle three tries to two, with Alfie Barbeary, Tom de Glanville, and Will Stuart scoring for the visitors, while Jaime Blamire and Freddie Lockwood for the hosts.

After a tight first 40 minutes, Bath showed their power and skill, scoring three further tries as Charlie Ewels, Finn Russell, and Sam Underhill gave Bath a dominant win to return back to the top of the league having fallen from the summit for a couple of hours after Bristol's 54-24 win away at Leicester Tigers earlier in the day.

READ MORE: Bath Rugby announce new state-of-the-art stadium plans

READ MORE: GWR warns no trains will travel in and out of London Paddington next weekend

Rugby writer Sam Jess takes a closer look at the individual performances from the Bath players....

15 Tom de Glanville - 8

Full of energy as always, de Glanville was on hand to finish a wonderful try, collecting Will Muir's chip to finish off a strong attacking move. The full-back was amongst everything in an attacking sense as he constantly looked for the edge of a soft shoulder but did show some miscommunication in the kicking game.

14 Joe Cokanasiga - 4

The winger had the worst possible start, completely missing the ball in the wind from a box kick by Sam Stuart with the Falcons scoring from the mistake with Jamie Blamire crossing. Another dropped ball from the same Falcons tactic and Cokanasiga was having a nightmare. When the ball did get into his hands, he showed power, but he was not able to grasp it that often.

13 Ollie Lawrence - 7

Having missed both Euro games due to rest, Lawrence had a good but imperfect game. Lawrence showed a lot more intent attacking-wise than his last few outings in a Bath shirt but did try to force offloads, leading to spills on the deck. Some lovely interplay between him and de Glanville showed when the offloads work, they can cause chaos.

12 Cameron Redpath - 9

The centre was amongst the gritty side of things with some brutal carries, although a nice flick on to Barbeary almost resulted in a try. His work rate was incredible as he popped up everywhere, both in the defence and attack, and he produced his best display this season.

11 Will Muir - 7

A fan favourite in these parts, Muir was lively and helped assist Tom de Glanville in style with a mini chip, which landed straight into the full-back's hands. While others struggled under the highball, Muir was excellent and gave Bath a solid platform.

10 Finn Russell - 8

Returning to fly-half, Russell was excellent, barring a five-minute meltdown, making some poor mistakes, including missing touch from a penalty on the 22, which was soon followed by forcing an offload that wasn't on. Russell found his mojo as the game wore on, with an array of passes and plenty zipping across the line, giving Bath the edge. His kicking was top notch slotting his five conversions with ease despite a howling wind and he even crossed for a try, backing his pace.

9 Ben Spencer - 7

Back from a hamstring injury, Spencer controlled proceedings well and gave some quick service to his fly-half. Some brilliant box kicking pinned Newcastle back, but his hands sometimes let him down.

1 Francois van Wyk - 6

A solid outing upfront while again doing the hard yards in a mature display.

2 Tom Dunn - 7

The hooker made a decent start but was caught offside from a restart, giving the hosts easy field position after Barbeary ran into him. However, this was a minor blip in what was a great bounce-back game for Dunn, who, after the struggles of La Rochelle two weeks ago, was excellent in the set piece and in the carry game.

3 Will Stuart - 7

One of the most improved players of the season thus far, Stuart got his reward for another strong carrying display with a close-range try just before halftime.

4 Quinn Roux - 7

A physical display from Roux, both with ball in hand and in defence, including earning a turnover penalty, which Bath would eventually score from.

5 Charlie Ewels - 7

One of his best outings of the season, Ewels was a menace to the Falcons all game, his reward a rare try for Bath - his first since 2018. While his international fortunes aren't the best, his club form has been stellar once again.

6 Josh Bayliss - 7

One of the few remaining in the starting lineup from last week, Bayliss made a turnover on halfway and was a menace all game and showed his ability to stay alive in the contact area.

7 Guy Pepper - 8

Against his former team, Pepper was looking for action everywhere. A turnover penalty 15 minutes from time gave Bath the platform for try number five. His industrious display saw him named the official player of the match by broadcasters TNT Sports.

8 Alfie Barbeary - 8

Back from a concussion layoff, the number eight made a strong start with a powerful surge close to the line to cross for Bath's opening try; however, moments later, he would cost Bath as from the kick-off, he ran straight into Tom Dunn, giving Newcastle easy ball in the 22. A great carry from the eight and bump off following a flick on by Redpath almost gave him his second try, but he was denied at the last, getting held up. Despite not grabbing a brace, Barbeary had his best game of the season and was a constant threat while on the pitch.

Replacements:

16 Niall Annett - 7

On with 20 minutes to go, Annett's first involvement was a try-saving tackle and hold-up play denying the Falcons.

17 Beno Obano - 7

Back from a foot injury, Obano was part of a bomb squad that helped confirm the game for the hosts

18 Thomas du Toit- 7

A powerful display to help Bath earn the win and all five points.

19 Ted Hill - N/A

20 Sam Underhill - 8

Adding power from the bench, Underhill came on with a typical flanker performance and collected plenty of loose balls and collected a try with the last play of the game to confirm a statement win.

21 Tom Carr-Smith - 6

On for some rare Premiership minutes, Carr-Smith added zip to the attack and in a neat cameo. 22 Will Butt - N/A

23 Jaco Coetzee - 6

The South African added his power once but did fumble the ball close to the line, which denied Bat.