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Bath centre Ollie Lawrence in Round 1 action
Bath Rugby look to bounce back from a narrow opening round defeat as they travel to RC Toulon for Round 2 of the EPCR Challenge Cup on Saturday.
A late penalty saw Bath fall 22-19 at home to Glasgow Warriors last time out, though there were positives to take for the Gallagher Premiership side as they crossed for three tries at The Recreation Ground.
Zebre Parma ran Toulon close in Round 1, with a 24-21 win in Italy far from convincing by the three-time EPCR champions.
The Pool A clash at the Stade Felix Mayol kicks off at 13:00 (UK & Irish time), and can be watched on France 3, beIN SPORTS, Viaplay-Premier Sports, and FloRugby.
Big @bundeeaki12 is back for @connachtrugby 💪
While Jack Dempsey returns for @GlasgowWarriors and Pieter Jansen van Vuren for @LionsRugbyCo 🙌
R2 #ChallengeCupRugby Friday night team news ➡️ https://t.co/xoJjWma0Bu pic.twitter.com/SbLSa2mBeL
— EPCR Challenge Cup (@ChallengeCup_) December 15, 2022
Key quote
Bath Rugby’s Tom de Glanville: “There were a few execution bits against Glasgow that we’ve looked to fix this week. If we had sorted those things out the result may have been a different story, but we have to accept that and look forward to Toulon.
“I’ve never been there and I’m excited for the experience as I’ve never really played in France so I can’t wait. There will be no better way than going to their ground and putting our marker down in European rugby.”
RC Toulon
- RC Toulon’s success rate off the tee against Zebre Parma was 33 per cent – the lowest of any team that scored points in the first round.
- They beat the most defenders in Round 1 (29), with Aymeric Luc contributing almost a quarter of those (eight).
- Luc along with Gervais Cordin were high achievers when it came to clean breaks in Round 1, making three and two respectively.
Bath Rugby
- Bath conceded six turnovers in Round 1, the fewest of the week.
- With two try assists, Ben Spencer made as many as any other player in the round.
Jiuta Wainiqolo scored Toulon's first try against Bath
Bath Rugby were comfortably beaten in Round 2 of the EPCR Challenge Cup as RC Toulon claimed a 29-7 win at Stade Félix Mayol on Saturday.
The boot of Dan Biggar was as reliable as always, now in Toulon colours, contributing a penalty and three conversions for a match tally of nine points.
Jiuta Wainiqolo, Maelan Rabut and Bruce Devaux crossed in the first half for the hosts, with Gervais Cordin dotting down in the second.
The only setback for the EPCR heavyweights was a yellow card for Baptiste Serin on 71 minutes after a deliberate knock-on.
🛁 defenders in the way, that's no issue for @RCTofficiel's Gervais Cordin 💪#ChallengeCupRugby pic.twitter.com/4otw9b6g8b
— EPCR Challenge Cup (@ChallengeCup_) December 17, 2022
That allowed Bath the space to get on the board, Tom Doughty getting over and Piers Francis adding the extras. But the visitors’ luck didn’t last long, Max Green heading into the bin himself three minutes later.
It was never going to be an easy prospect for Bath on the road, but such a thumping defeat after a narrow loss last week at home to Glasgow Warriors means they are still without a win in the competition thus far.
Bath and Toulon clash again in Round 3, the French side heading to The Recreation Ground on January 14.
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