mens
investec-champions-cup
Bath coach Johann van Graan lamented a costly combination of inaccuracies and unforced errors after his team Investec Champions Cup The campaign began with a shock 32-14 defeat at home Montpellier Hérault Rugby.
The Gallagher PREM side looked good after a strong first half at The Rec, but it all went to hell in the handbasket in the second half where Bath proved their worst enemy at times.
Visitors Montpellier actually struck first when Stuart Hogg finished in a corner and Adam Hastings converted to make it 7-0, but Bath responded in impressive fashion.
England center Ollie Lawrence raced through two defenders to equalize before Arthur Green spotted space from the penalty spot to slot home Bath’s second try. Finn Russell added both conversions as the hosts raced into a 14-7 lead.
Hastings reduced the deficit with a penalty before a potential Montpellier score was ruled out for a forward pass following a TMO review, leaving Bath 14-10 ahead at the break.
Van Graan felt his side had created enough chances to win the match, but was ultimately left to rue his inability to convert them.
“Yeah, not good enough. I think we created enough. It’s more frustration with unforced errors. I thought we started the game really well, we went in front at half-time and then, you know, in that second half we had more chances over the try line and we couldn’t convert. So that’s on us.”
Montpellier took control after the break. Donovan Taofifinua crossed in the corner before Hastings added a penalty to make it 18-14. The defining moment of the game came when Russell’s no-look effort was cut out by Taofififenu, who raced over to score his second to extend the visitors’ lead.
Bath thought they had found a way back into the contest through Josh Bayliss, only for the effort to be denied after the TMO spotted a roll from Ted Hill earlier in the move.
Van Graan pointed to several key moments that Bath failed to capitalize on.
“Yeah, look, at 14-10 we had a clear chance in the right corner that we didn’t finish. At 15-14 we had two chances and, you know, what happened, 25-14, we scored a try and then we got called back by the neck. So yeah, not accurate enough on our part.”
Montpellier added a late fourth try to seal an embarrassing night for last season’s EPCR Challenge Cup finalists.
“Yeah, look, we’re going to go and review the game and, you know, it’s clear that we didn’t adapt quickly enough to the referee and that’s on us as a group. When we come back to this competition in December, we’ve got to make sure we’re better.”
With a trip to Gloucester looming next weekend, the Bath boss admitted he has little time to reflect on the defeat.
“It’s a quick turnaround in the PREM action next weekend, so there’s not a lot of time to sort these issues out.”
And when asked what was at the top of his post-match checklist, his answer was succinct.
“Unforced errors. Correct them, finish them.”