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Bath have been waiting a long time for nights like this. A first major trophy for 17 years – and only their second since they lifted the Heineken Cup back in 1998 – was also secured with a swagger reminiscent of the club’s golden era. With the Premiership title still up for grabs next month, a potential treble-winning season is now within their grasp.
While the Premiership Cup and the Challenge Cup might not, in isolation, be the most prestigious competitions in the professional club game there is no doubting Bath’s increasing durability under screeching knock-out pressure. That said, they were lucky with a couple of contentious officiating calls which, had they gone the other way, might have made life appreciably harder.
The awarding of only a yellow card to Sam Underhill rather than a red for a dangerous high challenge was just one of several contentious decisions for Hollie Davidson, the first female referee to officiate in a high-profile men’s club final.
In the end, though, Bath’s familiar strength in depth off the bench paid its usual dividends and helped deliver four tries as they became the first English winners of this tournament for five years. French rugby does not have a total monopoly on power and tactical nous and when the outstanding Ben Spencer dived over to put his side clear early in the final quarter it was no less than Johann van Graan’s team deserved.
With the roof closed, the pitchside flame throwers at full blast and plenty of English supporters having made the short trip across the Severn Bridge, it certainly felt like a proper cup final, despite the minor caveat that Bath had trailed in fifth in their Champions Cup pool before entering this season’s Challenge Cup equation.
Lyon, appropriately clad in red, had also not read the West Country script. After just two minutes a slick passing sequence put their winger Ethan Dumortier over in the right corner and, after lengthy video scrutiny, the score was belatedly confirmed. The side currently lying in 11th place in the Top 14 can play some eye-catching rugby when the muse is with them.
Bath, though, are a tough side to subdue indefinitely. Will Butt steamed clear through the middle to set up a prolonged spell of territorial pressure which, eventually, yielded a try for a burrowing Tom Dunn. Finn Russell’s conversion made it 10-5 and, suddenly, the contest had a different feel.
Spencer’s left boot is also a tried and trusted tactical weapon and a raking 50-22 set up another promising position from which his side also profited. Again Spencer was at the heart of it, his long pass finding Max Ojomoh wide on the left and the centre’s clever pirouette took him past the flat-footed cover.
Any side containing a player of the pace and class of Davit Niniashvili, though, is never to be underestimated and the Georgian full-back duly set off on a daring surge which was only ended by a desperate upright tackle by Underhill. The England flanker was sent off by Davidson against Pau in the last 16 and was fortunate to receive only yellow this time.
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The same was true of Will Muir when he clattered Dumortier in the air to reduce Bath temporarily to 13 players. Lyon were also left frustrated when a slight nudge on Dunn in the buildup led to a potential try for Dumortier from a long lineout play being scrubbed out and the subsequent return of Underhill supplied some further Bath relief. Had Van Graan been offered a 12-point half-time lead in a pressure-laden final before kick-off, he would have snapped your hand off.
Arno Botha’s try four minutes after the restart, though, was a reminder that nothing could yet be guaranteed. Hence the roars when Beno Obano crashed over in the 50th minute to reestablish some daylight between the sides, with Russell’s conversion leaving Lyon 15 points adrift.
The gap grew wider when Tom de Glanville cut past a tiring defence and put Spencer away to seal a result that will further convince Bath that a seriously special season is brewing. It was also not an occasion Davidson will forget in a hurry, with the Scottish official firmly convinced there should be many more female referees at the top level of the men’s game in future years. “If you are are physically fit enough, mentally resilient, you know your stuff around the sport and have enough experience then there is nothing stopping women getting there. If you’re good enough at your job, you’re good enough at your job.” It is not her fault that rugby’s high tackle regulations remain so open to interpretation.
