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Kahn Fotuali'I has enjoyed his start to life at Bath and hopes it can continue into their European Rugby Challenge Cup Pool 4 meeting with Pau. - 13/10/2016 10:24
Kahn Fotuali’I has enjoyed his start to life at Bath and hopes it can continue into their European Rugby Challenge Cup Pool 4 meeting with Pau.
The West Country club have made a strong start to the Aviva Premiership season and are being tipped as one of the favourites to win this competition, having previously lifted the trophy in 2008.
Samoan scrum-half Fotuali’I has previous experience of European competition from his stints with the Ospreys and Northampton, and cannot wait to get back into continental rugby after finding his feet in short order at The Recreation Ground.
“We are pleased with the results, including last week against Sale, but there is a lot to work on. The scoreboard was good but there is a lot more we needed to do,” he said.
“I am enjoying my time here, it has been an easy transition to a new club, the boys made me and my family feel welcome. They are enjoying it which means I can enjoy my rugby.
“I have an awesome partnership with George Ford, he is a cool, calm guy who is very skilful and creates time for himself, all I do is give him good service and try and help out here and there.
“We have had a few wins in the first part of the season, but we are not looking too far ahead, we know it will only keep getting tougher.”
A trip to France will be the first test of Bath’s credentials as potential winners and Fotuali’I believes establishing a forward platform till be key against Simon Mannix’s side.
“We know we have a big task ahead playing a French side with a different style of play but it is rugby and we have to go out there, put our best foot forward and play the rugby that suits us and hopefully that gets us the result we are after,” he said.
Match Facts
- This will be the first meeting between the clubs in the Challenge Cup, however, they have met in the European Cup previously. Bath beat the TOP 14 side in the semi-finals on their way to winning the competition in 1997/98.
- Bath’s last appearance in the Challenge Cup came in the 2013/14 season when they lost in the final to Northampton Saints having won all eight games on the run in.
- Bath have won all 24 of their pool games in the Challenge Cup. The only time they have lost a match before the quarter-final stage was in 2002/03 when they lost the first leg of a Round 2 fixture against Bridgend.
- Pau won just 23 turnovers in last season’s competition, fewer than any other side.
- Pau are three tries away from scoring their 250th in European competition, 156 of their previous 247 have come in the Challenge Cup.
Brive's players are looking to pay their own special tribute to the great side that won the European Cup 20 years ago when they head to Bath for their Challenge Cup quarter-final. - 29/03/2017 14:41
Rhys Priestland kicked 20 points to steer Bath to a hard-fought win over Pau at Stade du Hameau.
The English side were rocked early on when they conceded a try to lose the lead, but they maintained the pressure and punished the home side’s indiscipline by hitting the target with their penalties.
But they were still forced to hang on at the death when they lost Aled Brew to the sin bin and then conceded a third try to Watisoni Votu with six minutes left on the clock. The conversion went wide, but with only three points between the two teams it was a tense finish.
Priestland opened the scoring with a first minute penalty and then added two more before the break. He also converted a try midway through the first period from England wing Semesa Rokoduguni.
That gave Bath a 16-7 lead, but the home side kept in touch thanks to two tries of their own. Romain Buros actually gave Pau the lead with his eight minute touchdown, which Brandon Fajardo improved, and a second conversion of Sean Dougall’s try on the stroke of half-time meant the TOP 14 side only trailed by two points at the break.
Fajardo then had a chance to take the lead with a penalty six minutes into the second half, but he missed the target for a second time. His kicking duel with Priestland continued throughout the second period and the Welshman came out on top as he added three more to one from the Pau player.
Priestland kicked one of his second half hat-trick shortly after former Australian skipper Ben Mowen had been sent to the sin-bin. Then Pau made the most of their extra man after Brew had seen yellow.
It was close, but not close enough for the TOP 14 team, although at least there was a losing bonus point.
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