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Bath can move a step closer to the knock-out stages with a 12th straight Amlin Challenge Cup triumph when they face Calvisano on Saturday. - 07/12/2012 10:15
Bath Rugby have been the stand-out team of the tournament – banking 24 out of a possible 25 points so far – and will want to keep the points coming ahead of their home tie in the quarter-finals.
The target is to finish as the highest ranked team and so avoid any of the three Heineken Cup Pool runners-up qualifying for the Amlin knock-out stages.
Bath certainly know what it takes to win European titles – they won the Heineken Cup in 1998 and the Amlin Challenge Cup in 2008 – and a repeat five years on would see them atomatically qualify for next season’s Heineken Cup.
They started as they meant to go on with a 40-17 win at Bucharest Wolves – Sam Vesty among the try scorers and supplying half their points total – and something similar is how they intend to finish the group stages.
Match Facts
- Bath have won 22 of their last 23 Amlin Challenge Cup games, their only loss in this period being the 2007 final against ASM Clermont Auvergne.
- At home, the English club have a 100% record in the tournament, winning all 19 games they have played on their own patch.
- Bucharest have won just one of their last 13 away games in this tournament, a 26-13 victory over Crociati in January 2012.
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Wolves have never beaten an English club in the Amlin Challenge Cup, only picking up wins against French and Italian opposition.
Bath Rugby - the 2008 tournament champions - will be the top ranked club in the quarter-finals and will play the fifth best Amlin group winner on the first weekend in April. - 19/01/2013 16:26
Bath Rugby – the 2008 tournament champions – will be the top ranked club in the quarter-finals and will play the fifth best Amlin group winner on the first weekend in April.
The maximum point haul they got from the commanding 53-8 victory over Bucharest Wolves at the Recreation Ground – their fifth five-pointer of the campaign – swept them to a 29 point total and out on their own as the best ranked pool winner, so avoiding any of the three Heineken Cup runners-up qualifying for the knock-out stages.
Full back Jack Cuthbert had the honour of banking the bonus point with his second and Bath’s fourth after just 27 minutes, hooker Tom Dunn getting the try scoring underway after 13 minutes before Bath were awarded a penalty try by referee Laurent Cardona.
Horacio Agulla got their fifth after the break and at least the Wolves got some reward with the ball in hand with scrum-half Grigoras Diaconescu going over the home line.
But it was pretty quickly back to business for Bath as Nick Koster and Chris Cook crossed before Cuthbert completed his hat-trick with Bath’s eighth amid the inevitable rush of replacements.
There was still time for Will Skuse to take their tournament tally of tries to a hugely impressive 37 in their pursuit of more European glory.
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