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The last time these two teams met on the European stage was a momentous occasion. - 02/04/2014 09:56
The last time these two teams met on the European stage was a momentous occasion.
It was the 1998 Heineken Cup Final in Bordeaux and Jon Callard stole the show, and the trophy for Bath, with all his side's points in an epic 19-18 victory. Not only did that mean Brive lost their grip on a title they had won so spectacularly in Cardiff the previous year, but Bath became the first non-French winners of the trophy.
Since those heady early days in the Heineken Cup, neither side has scaled the same heights again. Bath have reached three Amlin Challenge Cup finals, winning the title in 2007, while Brive reached the last eight for the 11th time this season. The French club drew one of their six Pool matches, against Rugby Calvisano, while Bath marched through their Pool undefeated.
The French side will travel with confidence having beaten ASM Clermont Auvergne 26-24 at home last weekend and have an expert goalkicker in Thomas Laranjeira at outside half, who scored 62 points in Brive’s Pool campaign, which saw them ranked eighth.
Bath have lost their last three games at The Recreation Ground, against Sale Sharks, Exeter Chiefs and Saracens, and were beaten at the same stage at home in last season’s competition when Stade Francais Paris ended their run of six unbeaten Pool games.
The home side will look to newly capped England outside half George Ford to dictate play for them – he has scored 45 points in Europe to date this season – and will be hoping for more tries from Matt Banahan as they attempt to reach another major final.
Match Facts
- Bath beat more defenders (31.2) and made more clean breaks (13.8) per game than any other club in the pool stage.
- Brive conceded more turnovers (117) than any other team in the pool stage.
- No team managed to steal more opposition lineouts (20) than Brive in the pool stage.
- The clubs have never met in the Amlin Challenge Cup but they have met three times in the Heineken Cup, with the last meeting being Bath’s 19-18 win in the 1998 final.
Bath Rugby ensured this year's Amlin Challenge Cup Final will be an all-English affair as they cruised into the last four with a six-try thrashing of Brive. - 06/04/2014 15:50
Bath Rugby ensured this year’s Amlin Challenge Cup Final will be an all-English affair as they cruised into the last four with a six-try thrashing of Brive.
Bath followed Northampton Saints and Harlequins into the semi-finals and, with London Wasps and Gloucester locking horns later on this evening, England are now guaranteed both teams in the tournament showpiece for the first time since Bath beat Worcester Warriors back in 2008.
A hat-trick from Horacio Agulla and further scores from Nick Abendanon, Semesa Rokoduguni and Micky Young ensured top seeds Bath bounced back from last season’s quarter-final loss to Stade Francais and from three successive home defeats in domestic competition over the past five weeks.
Brive claimed a consolation score from former Scarlets No8 Kieran Murphy with 15 minutes remaining but they never looked like avenging their 1998 Heineken Cup Final defeat to the same opposition despite having already won at Newcastle in the pool stages this season.
Bath started strongly as Carl Fearns and Gavin Henson made inroads into Brive territory, with only a superb cover tackle from scrum half Thomas Sanchou stopping Abendanon from touching down next to the posts with just two minutes played.
George Ford experienced a mixed day with the boot and he failed with a straightforward penalty attempt moments later, but Bath did get the reward their dominance deserved with nine minutes on the clock as Agulla stretched over out wide. The Argentine sold a lovely dummy after Bath moved the ball from right to left and the TMO ruled in his favour when Brive suggested he may have lost control at the vital moment.
Ford under hit the tricky conversion attempt into a difficult wind but he did find the target with a penalty from straight in front of the posts to extend the lead to eight points right at the close of the first quarter.
Brive began to gain a foothold both in terms of territory and possession between the 20-minute mark and the half hour but Bath effectively ended the contest with a brace of tries inside four minutes at the back end of the half.
Rokoduguni claimed his side’s third try with a fine finish after picking up Gavin Henson’s long pass on the 22-metre line before Agulla supplied something even more special when he ran in from just inside his own half, making light work of the covering defence to put Bath well and truly in control.
Ford failed with both sets of attempted extras but only the most optimistic of French fans would have tipped their team to overturn a 25-0 interval deficit.
Even they would have had to have had a rethink when Young burrowed over from close-range just three minutes after the restart and things went from bad to worse for Brive when Agulla celebrated his hat-trick with fully half an hour remaining. Lovely hands from Ford and a crisp pass from Abendanon saw Agulla canter home from the 22 and, with Ford converting for the second time in the half, Bath were just a point shy of 40 as both sides began to ring the changes.
Murphy at least ensured Brive had the final say on the scoreboard when he powered over after persistent pressure but it wasn’t enough to take the gloss off an impressive display from Mike Ford’s men, who will now travel to either Wasps or Gloucester in three weeks’ time.
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