Following a dominant 61-26 victory for Bath over arch-rivals Gloucester, here are our five takeaways from the Challenge Cup quarter-final at the Rec on Sunday.
The top line
Bath once again took bragging rights in this West Country derby against Gloucester as the home supporters and players revelled in this Challenge Cup humiliation.
In what was a closely fought opening 35 minutes then became a blowout as the hosts’ extra class told in the second period. The Cherry and Whites may be enjoying an improved season, with them currently sat in a Premiership play-off spot, but they have some way to go to reach the levels of their fellow West Countrymen.
To their credit, the visitors initially traded blows with Bath and were only 26-19 in arrears at one stage – Tom de Glanville, Tom Dunn, Archie Griffin and Ben Spencer going over for the home side, and Santiago Carreras, Jack Singleton and Jacob Morris responding – but the second 40 minutes was rather painful.
Alfie Barbeary’s try just before the break gave Bath the momentum they needed to dominate the second period and further scores from the number eight, Jaco Coetzee, Ted Hill and Tom Carr-Smith resulted in their Challenge Cup exit and a rather chastening day for Gloucester. As for their arch-rivals, they must surely be the favourites for this competition.
West Country ambition
Derbies are usually tight and fiery affairs, while they can also become rather attritional, but that is not the way in the Premiership these days, and particularly the West Country. Although Bristol Bears have always been renowned for their ability to move the ball, they have been joined in placing an emphasis on attack by Gloucester and, to some degree, Bath.
The Cherry and Whites endured an atrocious 2024/25 campaign and duly changed their approach this year. It has certainly paid off for the most part, with George Skivington’s men in title contention domestically, but they were no match for the clinical beast which is Bath.
While Johann van Graan’s outfit are slightly more conservative and make sure the fundamentals are very much in place, with Finn Russell in the team and feeding a talented set of outside backs, they are certainly not afraid of spreading the ball wide.
Indeed, they played some fantastic rugby at the Rec, intelligently finding holes in the Gloucester rearguard to put their arch-rivals to the sword. They are some team to watch when in full flow.
On for the treble
Some have questioned quite how Bath have managed to build such a talented and deep squad within the Premiership’s strict salary cap but, irrespective of that scepticism, their brilliance should be celebrated.
With Leinster breaking all sorts of records in the Champions Cup, it is easy to forget that Bath were the last team to score a point against the Irish giants in that competition and for 60 minutes of the match went toe-to-toe with a full-strength side.
After those pool stages, Bath may have regretted not taking the Champions Cup seriously enough earlier in the campaign, which ultimately led to their demotion to the second-tier, but it may actually end up benefiting the West Countrymen.
There are three fine teams remaining in the semi-finals, including two French giants in Lyon and Racing 92, but if there is an English team that can compete with the might of the Top 14 behemoths, it is Bath.
Ultimately, any thoughts of facing either of those two will have to wait as they head to Edinburgh for an equally tough semi-final. However, given their dominant knockout victories over Pau and Gloucester, they will fancy their chances in the last-four.
With them 10 points clear at the top of the Premiership, they are favourites for the title domestically and, on this form, few would bet against them in the Challenge Cup. It could be a historic season for Van Graan’s side having already claimed the Premiership Rugby Cup.
England bolters
While Bath have been dominant in England this season, it has not necessarily resulted in recognition at international level, but there are plenty pressing their claims, and it would be rather idiotic to ignore the form of the Premiership’s best team.
Northampton Saints may have reached the Champions Cup semi-finals – and all credit to the Midlanders – but Bath are the country’s leading lights and their players may understandably feel a bit irritated by Steve Borthwick’s decision to overlook a number of them.
Leading the charge on Sunday was Alfie Barbeary, who was rightly named man of the match after an all-action performance. The number eight has been on the Test radar for some time, but he has not managed to really get anywhere near Borthwick’s 23. His form at the moment might just change the head coach’s mind, however, particularly with the British and Irish Lions tour potentially depriving the head coach of some of his best back-rowers.
Barbeary, alongside fellow back-row Ted Hill and scrum-half Ben Spencer, are the obvious candidates for game time in Argentina, but there are plenty of others putting their hands up. Prop Beno Obano was busy throughout his time on the field, Will Muir and Tom de Glanville excelled on the wing on Sunday, while Will Butt punched holes in the midfield.
Challenge Cup thrillers
There have been complaints over the one-sided nature of the Champions Cup knockout fixtures, but the same cannot be said for the second-tier competition. This was the only match where the match was decided relatively early on, with the other three matches veritable thrillers.
On Saturday, Edinburgh withstood a Bulls fightback to claim a 34-28 triumph before French duo Lyon and Racing 92 edged to narrow victories against the Ospreys and Connacht, claiming two and three-point victories respectively.
The Challenge Cup has had its critics over the years, and a lot of teams don’t take it seriously – at least until the latter stages – but in some ways it has eclipsed its big brother this weekend, which itself could be considered a concern.
👀 READ MORE: Investec Champions Cup 2024-25: Semi-final ties, times and dates revealed
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/bath-v-gloucester-five-takeaways-as-irritated-england-hopefuls-inflict-derby-day-humiliation-on-arch-rivals
