Dunn eyes Challenge Cup
Hooker Tom Dunn has sent out a rallying cry to his Bath Rugby teammates to capitalise on a prime opportunity to bring home some silverware.
Bath have dropped down in the second tier Challenge Cup competition in Europe after their 2020/21 Champions Cup pool stage campaign was ravaged by Covid cancellations and a 23-19 defeat to Scarlets.
But having been drawn away against struggling Italian Pro14 side Zebre in the last 16 knockout stages on Good Friday, and then a home quarter-final against London Irish or Cardiff Blues, suddenly the Blue, Black & White have a favourable pathway into the semi-finals.
Dunn said: “We have been lucky in Europe that we are back in the mix there.
“This is an opportunity we didn’t think we would have so it is a nobrainer to go for it.
“We are not here to play games and win fun, we are here to win stuff. If not now then why not?
“What are you doing here, why are we bothering to do all this if not to win something.
“No one wants to go through their career, go 12 years and play 400 games without winning anything. Everyone is scared of that and there is a real desire to go and actually win something.”
Back on the domestic front, with Worcester Warriors coming to The Rec on Saturday in Round 14 of the Gallagher Premiership, Bath find themselves a disappointing ninth in the table but still just eight points off a spot in the play-offs.
Dunn said: “There are eight points between fourth and eighth, that is a couple of games and as we have seen in the league this year everyone has got a chance of winning a game at the weekend.
“There is no reason we can’t achieve our goals.”
This Bath side have proven in very recent history they can string together a run of wins, winning seven of their nine games after rugby restarted in August at the end of the 2019/20 season, drawing once and losing once to reach the play-offs for the first time in five years.
Another similar effort will likely be required to reel in the current top four sides of Bristol Bears, Exeter Chiefs, Harlequins and Sale Sharks.
One cup competition that Bath cannot win this year is the Premiership Rugby Cup following the announcement of its cancellation for the 2020/21 season on Wednesday.
It was scheduled to be played as a midweek competition in April, but that has been disregarded due to ongoing issues with the Covid-19 pandemic.