BATH director of rugby Todd Blackadder found some consolation in a try-scoring bonus point and a losing bonus point but bemoaned too many unforced errors by his players in the 31-26 defeat by Wasps at the Rec.

"Wasps were absolutely ruthless," Blackadder said. "We didn't hold on to the ball and they punished us for it.

"We really wanted a good start and that was the most disappointing thing. We defended really well and the first time we got a turnover, we threw it away. We invited them to come and attack us for another 15 phases and they scored.

"We didn't have enough presence in contact and, credit to them, they just kept getting really quick ball and putting us under pressure.

"The most disappointing thing was that it was all off the back of our own unforced errors. You're never going to win a game like that by conceding 31 points at home."

A try-scoring performance by young flanker Zach Mercer again provided an optimistic footnote though.

Blackadder said: "He showed what a class player he is, really outstanding. The young guys have been brilliant this season and he took his opportunity and played really well."

Wasps director of rugby Dai Young wants his players to learn how to produce "boring" rugby when they need to.

Five tries underlined Wasps' attacking prowess but Young said it should have been a more comfortable win after being 19-0 ahead in the early stages.

"The first 25 minutes was excellent but then there were a number of opportunities where the last pass didn't stick," Young said. "A little bit of indiscipline allowed Bath to get back in our half and, to be absolutely honest, our defence wasn't good enough.

"We made it hard for ourselves but Bath are owed credit too. They had opportunities and nailed them. Two yellow cards didn't help us.

"From our point of view, we played some great stuff on occasions and then we became a little bit casual."

Marcus Watson and Willie le Roux both spent time in the sin bin, complicating the task for Wasps.

Young added: "There was plenty of endeavour from us in defence but we have to win a few more collisions than we did. Saying that, I don't want to put too much of a dampener on it. Getting a bonus-point win, we've got to be happy with that.

"If we can back up this performance next week against Saracens and we are comfortably in the top four then it's just a matter of maintaining our form and making sure we stay there till the end.

"We've shown what we can do with the ball. We need to show that we can play 'boring' on occasions and demonstrate a bit of patience."