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Experienced Bath Rugby forward Dave Attwood is relishing the chance to be back involved with Todd Blackadder's team ahead of their European Rugby Challenge Cup semi-final with Stade Francais. - 20/04/2017 12:18
Experienced Bath Rugby forward Dave Attwood is relishing the chance to be back involved with Todd Blackadder’s team ahead of their European Rugby Challenge Cup semi-final with Stade Francais.
Blackadder’s men face a last-four clash with Stade on Sunday, but could be boosted by the return of lock Attwood who has been struggling with a knee problem.
Attwood hasn’t played a minute in 2017, but is back in full training with Bath. He says he feels lucky to be in with a chance of being selected this weekend.
“I'm just thrilled to even be considered to play,” said Attwood. “I haven't even thought about the magnitude of the game.
“It's been such a dark hole, I'm just excited about the potential opportunity to hit some live scrums and do some real rugby stuff.
“The reason I joined the club in 2011 was to get some silverware.
“I know a lot of other people looked at the infrastructure, the facilities, the coaching and the playing squad and thought this is a team that wants to win things and put themselves in a position to be successful.”
Bath have had an impressive run to the Challenge Cup semi-finals, downing French opposition in the shape of Brive in the last-eight stage.
That 34-20 win over Brive on home turf saw the likes of Semesa Rokoduguni and Taulupe Faletau impress, and Bath undoubtedly have plenty of talent in their squad.
Bath haven’t won silverware since 2008, but Attwood is determined to bring that run to an end.
Whoever wins in the French capital will face either La Rochelle or Gloucester Rugby in the Challenge Cup final at BT Murrayfield on May 2.
Attwood said: “The fact there's been such a drought weighs heavily on the squad and particularly me. It's something I'm very much hoping to relieve us of this year.
“The next challenge is a semi-final against a huge team, away from home, who are playing incredibly well, and a chance to get to a final up in Edinburgh.
“Given that we've taken ourselves out of the driving seat in the Premiership and are basically relying on results to qualify for play-off opportunities there, this next game is a massive one.”
Attwood is in contention to start the game at the Stade Jean-Bouin.
Blackadder’s big names including British Lions Faletau, Jonathan Joseph and Anthony Watson will lead the charge for victory alongside George Ford and Rokoduguni.
Stade will be anything but an easy test though and have the players capable of matching Bath’s free-flowing style of play.
The Parisians secured an impressive away quarter-final win over Ospreys at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium and in half-backs Will Genia and Jules Plisson and captain Sergio Parisse, have international experience at the spine of their team.
The battle between Ford and Plisson at fly-half has the potential to define the game.
Plisson said: “I know George Ford very well, I’ve played against him lots of times with England at Under-18, Under-19 and Under-20 level. He’s a very good player.
“I really enjoy playing against him because he’s top quality, but it will be very important for us to win that game for the public and all the people at Stade Francais.”
Australian livewire Genia said: “Bath will be a very tough test, they are a quality side when they have all their players back and playing for them. Ford is coming back, so it will be a very tough test for us.”
Match Facts
- Stade Francais have reached the Challenge Cup semi-finals for the fifth time. Their previous four semi-finals have all been decided by margins of fewer than seven points (W2, L2).
- Bath, the 2008 winners, are through to the semi-finals for the sixth time and they have progressed to the final on four of five previous occasions.
- Stade’s four previous games at this stage were all against Top 14 clubs whilst four of Bath’s previous five semi-final ties have been against Aviva Premiership opposition – the exception being their two-leg aggregate defeat to Montferrand (now ASM Clermont Auvergne) in 2004.
- Bath have won 16 of their last 17 away games in the Challenge Cup with their only defeat in that run coming earlier this season against the Cardiff Blues.
- Bath have won their last six games away to Top 14 sides, however, all but one of those games were decided by fewer than 10 points.
- Stade Francais have won seven of their last eight home games against Premiership opposition in the Challenge Cup. Their only defeat in that run came against Harlequins in the 2014 quarter-final.
- Bath have scored the most tries (10) this season after gaining possession from a turnover.
- Bath need just eight points to score their 2000th in the Challenge Cup. They would become the 11th club to reach that total, with Stade Francais one of the 10 clubs to have previously reached the milestone.
- Semesa Rokoduguni has beaten 27 defenders in five games and his average of 5.4 defenders beaten per game is the best of any player to have made more than one appearance this season.
Sergio Parisse's Stade Francais Paris side will meet Gloucester Rugby in the Challenge Cup final at BT Murrayfield after a dramatic semi-final triumph. - 23/04/2017 15:33
Sergio Parisse’s Stade Francais Paris side will meet Gloucester Rugby in the Challenge Cup final at BT Murrayfield after a dramatic semi-final triumph.
In a tale of two outside halves, it was Stade’s Jules Plisson who was the hero as he scored 13 points, including a match winning drop goal, while Bath’s George Ford missed with a last gaps penalty that would have taken the game into extra time.
That miss meant Bath lost 28-25 in one of the most dramatic Challenge Cup semi-finals on records. At 18-6 down, Bath staged a remarkable second-half comeback as tries from Semesa Rokoduguni, Robbie Fruean and Elliott Stooke put them back into the lead.
But in a remarkable final quarter, the game swung back and forth as Hugh Pyle’s try and a conversion and drop
goal from Jules Plisson put Stade ahead. There was still time for Bath to try and send the game into extra time, but Ford missed from the tee in added on time to leave Stade to celebrate. It means the French side, who have only lost once at home all season, will face Gloucester in the final at BT Murrayfield on May 12.
On a glorious sunny day in the French capital, Plisson and Ford exchanged early penalties before the Parisians’ impressive start saw them move ahead.
Hugo Bonneval made the most of a huge hole in the Bath defence, sprinted through the gap, and found Geoffrey Doumayrou outside him who crossed in the corner. Plisson missed the conversion, but was then successful with a long-range penalty and at 11-3, Todd Blackadder’s men were up against it.
Stade’s power game was giving them the upper hand, with their scrum impressive and Jonathan Danty a threat at centre. The pace of the game was relentless, the hot conditions having a big impact on both sets of players. Bath then had their best chance of the half, Ford putting Kane Palma Newport into space. The prop’s pass found Ben Tapuai, but as he reached for the line, the ball was knocked from his grasp.
Ford’s penalty soon after was some consolation, but the lack of structure to the game suited Stade down to the ground and Bonneval was unluckily judged to have been held up over the line after a sensational Will Genia break.
Stade moved further clear at the start of the second period. Yet another powerful carry from Danty took Stade close to the Bath line, and Genia’s short pass found Plisson who crossed by the right-hand post. The French fly-half converted.
It left Bath up against it, but they fought back strongly. They finally kept the ball for long periods and were rewarded when Rokoduguni brushed off Bonneval to score a wonderful individual effort. Ford converted and it soon got even better as Blackadder’s men got on the comeback trail.
Just five minutes after Rokoduguni’s effort, replacements Fruean and Stooke came up with further scores and all of a sudden it looked like Bath would come out on top. That wasn’t the end of the drama though as Stade went the length of the field, Djibril Camara linking with lock Pyle to somehow make it to the line from 50 metres out.
Plisson converted and then slotted a nerveless drop goal to make it 28-25, but Bath still had one more chance. They secured a penalty, but Ford couldn’t find the target and the truth is the English side only have themselves to blame for not making the final.
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