MAN of the match Shaun Berne notched 17 points as Bath overcame plucky Rotherham 42-19, scoring six tries and reigniting their flagging title aspirations.

Bath gave a league debut to young fullback Stuart Bellinger, although not in his preferred position.

Coach Jon Callard elected to keep Tom Voyce as the last line of defence with Bellinger coming in for the injured Adedayo Adebayo on the wing.

That was one of four changes from a side that narrowly defeated Sale last week.

The others saw scrum-half Gareth Cooper come in for Jon Preston who was ill, while Steve Borthwick and American Dan Lyle regained their places in the pack following international duty.

Bath should have scored a try in the third minute after creating an overlap on the left.

However Jeremy Guscott elected to go alone and was held up over the line when a pass to either Voyce or Bellinger would surely have resulted in a try.

Luckily for Guscott, Rotherham had strayed offside and fly-half Berne kicked the resultant penalty.

Bath were on top and scored a try after 15 minutes when Cooper delayed his pass beautifully for number eight Lyle to crash over the line.

Six minutes later, Berne burst through the centre and his delightful chip ahead caused panic in the Rotherham rearguard.

Wing Rob Thirlby gratefully scooped it up to race away and cross in the corner for his fourth try of the season .

Out-half Luke Smith opened the visitors' account with a penalty, but Bath replied with a third try when Borthwick won a line-out and Berne tore through a narrow gap to send Lyle over again.

Two penalties from Smith reduced the arrears in first half injury time but Bath comfortably led 20-9 at the break.

Smith slotted over over a fourth penalty to reduce the gap to only eight points early in the second half, but Rotherham's hopes of a comeback were short-lived.

Bath upped the tempo and took control of the game, scoring three tries in eight minutes.

Mark Gabey bludgeoned his way over from a close-range line-out before Berne gathered Cooper's high kick to cross in the corner for a try which he embellished with an excellent conversion.

Within three minutes he was converting again after Bath racked up their sixth try.

Kevin Maggs profited from a combination between Guscott and Voyce to race 40 metres to score.

Berne's third successful conversion put Bath were 42-12 ahead.

The match then degenerated into a mass of substitutions. Bath gave a league debut to Sam Cox in the centre in place of Guscott.

The Yorkshiremen battled and scored a consolation try when prop Stuart Turner went over from close range.