Matt Banahan hopes record-breaking try helps Bath Rugby secure play-off finish ...

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Matt Banahan says his record-breaking try for Bath Rugby on Saturday will be even sweeter if it secures them a finish in the Aviva Premiership play-off places.

Banahan’s late touchdown against Worcester Warriors was his 37th for Bath in the Premiership and made him the club’s top try scorer in the history of the competition.

The score also secured Bath a bonus point in a 32-20 victory at The Rec and they are now in a strong position to finish in the top four with just two games remaining.

Saturday’s success over Warriors saw Mike Ford’s side leapfrog Leicester Tigers into third in the table and they now have a six-point lead over fifth-placed Harlequins.

Banahan, 27, said: “If that stat is true then it’s a very special try, and it means a lot anyway to get us in the position we are in now.

“If we can finish it off and get in the top four then it’ll feel even greater. We’ve just missed out for so many years, so it’ll be good if we are able to get back in there.

“It’s still all up for grabs and we’ve just got to keep playing our game, we can’t worry about anything else at the moment.

“We don’t want to be relying on other results and other teams’ performances. We just want to concentrate on ourselves and our games. If we win the last two then we deserve to be there.”

Banahan’s try two minutes from time brought a collective sigh of relief at The Rec. The hosts had crossed the whitewash three times in the first half and led by 17 points early in the second.

But bottom-side Warriors mounted a brave fightback to cut that gap to just five points only for Banahan’s heroics to deny them at the death, with the centre fist-pumping as he got over the line in front of the IPL South Stand where his family were seated.

“The celebration was a culmination of everything,” said 16-cap England international Banahan.

“There was a frustration within all the boys as we knew all game we could get the five points and had tried our absolute utmost to get them.

“If you’re the one scoring to get that at the end of the game, you’ve got to be satisfied for the whole team.

“And for me personally, it’s always nice to score underneath where my son sits. That’s who I was looking up at, it makes his day and it makes my day seeing him smile. It’s always nice to see the family so happy when you play well.”

Article source: http://web.orange.co.uk/p/rugbyleague/match?game_id=118197&competition_id=1

Matt Banahan hopes record-breaking try helps Bath Rugby secure play-off finish ...