Bath produced a stunning display to maintain their hopes of reaching the European Champions Cup knock-out rounds with a dominant 32-18 win at Toulouse on Sunday.
Having lost their opening two Pool 4 games, the English side looked out of the competition, but they have rebounded in fine style, none more so than this crushing defeat of the record four-time European champions.
Matt Banahan, Chris Cook, Jonathan Joseph and South African Francois Louw scored the tries to give Bath a bonus point win that leaves them just a point behind the French side going into the final round of games.
Photo: AFP
“I’m really pleased with the first half; we were fantastic and if Anthony [Watson] scores, it’s 29-7 and could have been four tries to one [at that stage], but credit to them [Toulouse], they fought their way back into it, they were always going to do that,” Bath coach Mike Ford said. “The game was in the balance for a bit in the second half.”
Bath is to host Glasgow, who trounced them 37-10 in Scotland back in October last year, while Toulouse is to be away to Top 14 rivals Montpellier.
Bath would guarantee their quarter-final spot with a bonus point win in home play at the Recreation Ground.
They produced a swashbuckling first half of attacking rugby, running from deep and creating panic in the home defense and — except for George Ford dallying before Watson was held up over the line — they could have secured the bonus point by halftime.
Toulouse fought back with tries from Yoann Maestri and Yoann Huget, while three penalties from former England flyhalf Toby Flood helped them back to 25-18 early in the second period.
A try-saving tackle from Ford, who held up Toulouse flanker Yannick Nyanga, kept Bath in front.
However, their final try was a thing of rare beauty, as Joseph picked up his own grubber-kick in behind a high defensive line and then looped around the cover defense before shuffling the ball inside to Ross Batty to feed Louw to score.
Earlier in the day, Glasgow kept their hopes alive with a 21-10 victory over eliminated Montpellier.
South African wing D.T.H. van der Merwe scored a hat-trick, but the Scottish outfit missed out on the bonus point.
They now trail Bath by a point and even a victory at the Recreation Ground might not be enough for them next week, unless they could secure the bonus.
Racing Metro remained the only unbeaten side in the competition following Toulouse’s defeat as they trounced hapless Treviso 53-7.
First-half tries from Henry Chavancy, Benjamin Lapeyre and Dimitri Szarzewski put them in command 19-0 up at the break.
Szarzewski earned a hat-trick early in the second before Michele Campagnaro replied for Treviso.
Two Juan Imhoff scores on either side of a penalty try and Lapeyre’s second completed the nine-try rout.
The bonus point left Racing level on points with Northampton, who won 20-9 at Ospreys, ahead of the pair’s winnera-take-all meeting at Franklin Gardens next week.
Ospreys hobbled themselves in the first half, giving away two tries.
Rhys Webb’s clearing-kick from behind his own line was charged down, and Stephen Myler dived on the loose ball to score, while Justin Tipuric fumbled in midfield when tackled by Luther Burrell. George North picked up the ball before running it home unopposed.
That second try even came with George Pisi in the penalty box.
Saints battered away at the Ospreys line in the second half, but the Welsh region held firm with dogged defense to prevent their opponents getting the tries needed for a bonus.
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