Trip to Zebre drawn in Challenge Cup
Bath Rugby have been drawn against Zebre Rugby Club in the knockout stage of the 2020/21 Challenge Cup.
The draw was made is Lausanne, Switzerland, on Tuesday after the final two rounds of the Heineken Cup pool stage were scrapped in January due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Failing to qualify for the knockout rounds of the Heineken Cup, Bath were placed in the Challenge Cup draw alongside fellow Gallagher Premiership sides London Irish, Leicester Tigers, Newcastle Falcons, Northampton Saints and Harlequins.
The round of 16 matches are due to take place on the weekend of 2-4 April before the quarter-finals on April 9-11. Should Bath beat Zebre, they will meet the winners of London Irish and Cardiff Blues in the last eight.
The final, due to be held in Marseille, is scheduled to take place on May 21.
As for the other English sides, Saints face a trip to Dragons with Falcons going to Ospreys, Leicester host Connacht and Harlequins are at home to Ulster. The other ties see Benetton welcome Agen and Montpellier hosting Glasgow.
■ FORMER Bath centre and England international Kyle Eastmond believed he had ‘accomplished all that I set out to achieve in rugby union’ after switching back to rugby league last week by joining Leeds Rhinos.
Eastmond switched codes to join Bath from St Helens in 2011 where he earned six England caps - two against Argentina, three against New Zealand and one more against South Africa. Eastmond also reached the Premiership final in 2015 in the loss against Saracens.
Eastmond left Bath to join Wasps in 2016 and then Leicester Tigers in 2018 before exiting last July over a contract dispute which saw a number of stars depart.
Linking up with Leeds Rhinos sees Eastmond end eight months without a club - with his final rugby union game another defeat to Saracens.
Writing on Instagram, Eastmond said: “I left all that I knew at 21.
“I encountered unique obstacles along the way. Respect to the few people that journeyed with me through the madness on and off the field. I’ve accomplished all that I set out to achieve in rugby union. Thank you to all my teammates, the staff and fans.
“Son, I told you, I’m coming home.”