Poor lineout costs place in cup final
As a top second row in his playing days, it will come as an added insult to Bath Rugby director of rugby Stuart Hooper that his side’s bid for a place in the European Challenge Cup final fell apart at the lineout.
Bath were beaten 19-10 by Montpellier at The Rec on Saturday night to be dumped out at the semi-final stage of the competition after their fearsome maul from the lineout never got a chance to shine as the hosts lost eight balls on their own throw to cripple their attacking weapon.
Bath got off to a strong start to take the lead inside the first four minutes through Tom Dunn, powering over from close range. But that would be the Blue, Black and Whites’ only incursion over the opposition whitewash as Montpellier heroically held out during a series of try-line stands in the second half. The early try potentially papered over cracks that Bath had lost the ball moments before at the 5m lineout moments before and that would continue to fatally plague the homeside.
Montpellier’s scores came cheaply, playing knock-out rugby like the experienced side of veterans they are and keeping the scoreboard ticking with three penalties from the boot of scrum-half Benoit Paillaugue and then one from World Cup winning fly-half Handre Pollard who made his first appearance in seven months after recovering from a knee injury.
In fairness, Montpellier’s key score, a try in the 22nd minute, was a wonderful moment of opportunism with Paillaugue chipping over the home defence for Vincent Rattez to gather and pass inside to Yacouba Camara to race over.
The inquest into Bath’s performance will go deep into this week, with Gallagher Premiership leaders Bristol Bears heading to The Rec next weekend.
Montpellier will now meet Leicester Tigers in the final at Twickenham Stadium on Friday, May 21, after Tigers booked their place in the final with a 33-24 comeback win over Ulster on Friday.
After the game, Charlie Ewels said on the club’s website: “I think we started very well, then I think as the game went on our inaccuracies started to creep in and then every single time you make a mistake, or ill-discipline, you just let the pressure valve go and they sort of felt their way in and build momentum through the match.
“Then in the second half we deliver a lineout performance like we did today, which ultimately comes back to me, then it’s very difficult to build any sort of pressure.
“Even despite the poor lineout performance we still gave ourselves four or five opportunities up in the red zone to score points and we build pressure, build pressure, and then we get the yellow card and we don’t quite - it always felt sort of one pass away, one moment away - so I suppose on things like that you have to give credit to Montpellier.
“They stayed in, we couldn’t quite break them when we got down here. Frustrating because when I felt we got our stuff right, it felt really good.”
Ewels added: “I think the big for me is it’s always the little moments. The hardest thing of knockout rugby is that it’s not like the league where you can lick your wounds quickly and move on with it because you’ve got another game next weekend.
“In a competition like this we don’t get another shot at it now until next year and get to play knockout rugby for another year potentially .
“They’re hard lessons and they particularly sting because these are your shots, these are your big games and they don’t come around often.”