Following a 39-24 win for Bath over Edinburgh in the Challenge Cup semi-final, here’s our five takeaways from the game at Hive Stadium on Saturday.
The top line
Finn Russell returned to Scotland to steer Bath into their first European final for 17 years and rubber-stamp his British and Irish Lions selection ahead of Thursday’s squad announcement in London.
Bath, strangers to Europe’s showpiece occasions since Steve Borthwick captained them to the European Challenge Cup in 2008, scored five tries for a come-from-behind win described as “workmanlike” by their director of rugby Johann van Graan.
In the shadow of Murrayfield, Russell kicked nine points to set up a Friday night date against either Racing 92 or Lyon in Cardiff on May 23 – and keep alive his club’s hopes of a trophy treble.
The West Countrymen have already won the Premiership Rugby Cup and guaranteed themselves a home semi-final in the league courtesy of a 15-point lead at the top with three rounds remaining.
Now, after tries by man of the match Sam Underhill, Tom Dunn (2). Alfie Barbeary, Neil Annett and Guy Pepper, they are 80 minutes from Challenge Cup glory.
Edinburgh lineout woes
To have any chance against Bath your set-piece has to function. The lineout that Edinburgh brought with them to work was unfit for purpose. Everyone knows the English trailblazers are masters in that area, a side that thrives off set-piece ball. Their hosts made it easy for them
The opening try by Underhill came from the touchline, so too the second by Tom Dunn after the hooker hit Charlie Ewels, joined the back of the maul to regather possession and drive over the line.
Gloucester were poor at lineout time in the quarter-finals at the Rec and paid a heavy price. Edinburgh had much to be proud of in their defensive effort, Sam Skinner making one huge turnover, Hamish Watson another.
But the lineout remained their Achilles heel throughout. Dunn’s second try, on 54 minutes, was a carbon copy of his first. Bath’s fourth, claimed by replacement Barbeary, once again originated from the same set-piece.
Bath made to work hard
For all that, Bath made hard work of putting away a side languishing 10th in the United Rugby Championship, a decade on from their only appearance in a European final.
Edinburgh did not even get a good start, blowing two golden chances to open a 10-point lead before the visitors were even off the mark.
It could have been so different had the bounce, from Ali Price’s fourth minute hack ahead, fallen for the home scrum-half rather than former flatmate Russell, chasing what he thought was a hopeless cause.
Price responded with a smile. But Edinburgh didn’t see the funny side of what happened next. Ross Thompson missed an easy penalty kick at goal, after Underhill was pinged. Jamie Ritchie then dropped the restart and Edinburgh conceded a penalty at the scrum.
Bath cashed in from the resultant lineout, Ewels offloading for Underhill to go over and a forgettable passage of play cost the home side seven points.
Despite that, Edinburgh stayed interested. Sean Everitt’s side, cheered on by Hollywood actor Gerard Butler, capitalised on two Bath yellow cards and a quick piece of thinking to lead 17-12 soon after half-time.
Bath’s Bomb Squad turn the contest
When Thomas du Toit, Barbeary and Ted Hill were sent on together 49 minutes into this semi-final, Bath’s hopes of a trophy treble hung by a thread.
A tie which they appeared to have control over got away from them in the middle third with Moses Tuipulotu, brother of Scotland skipper Sam, pulling the scores level with a smart Edinburgh try on 19 minutes.
Tom de Glanville then followed Will Muir into the sin bin shortly after half-time, conceding a penalty try in the process to put the home side ahead for the first time in front of a raucous sell-out crowd.
Enter Bath’s mini Bomb Squad and cue four tries to muscle the contest away from the Scots. Barbeary claimed the second of those and had a hand in Bath’s fifth, scored by Neil Annett, before Guy Pepper completed the scoring.
“There’s a huge emphasis we put on the guys coming on,” captain Ben Spencer said proudly. “They know their role within the team and I thought they added huge impetus when they came on today, swung the momentum in our favour.”
Is history about to repeat itself?
Cam Redpath was two years old when Sale Sharks won the Challenge Cup in 2002 under the captaincy of his father, Bryan. The Scotland scrum-half wore a beaming smile as he lifted the trophy in Oxford after a 25-22 win over Pontypridd.
Three years later Redpath snr was back at the Kassam Stadium to help the Cream of Manchester win it again, this time overwhelming Pau 27-3. His son was at primary school, largely unaware of the twin achievements. He would come to learn of them as his rugby education began.
20 years later, to the month, Cam moved to within 80 minutes of joining his dad on the tournament’s roll of honour. Ironically, he did it in Scotland, the nation he now represents.
It was not without a scare. In only the fifth minute Nika Amashukeli looked long and hard at slow-mo replays of the Bath centre’s shoulder making contact with the upper end of Hamish Watson.
The ever-impressive Georgian referee concluded first contact was with the chest of the Edinburgh openside and Redpath stayed the distance. One more game to complete the family hat-trick.
The final could also bring up a notable European double for another Bath family. Twenty seven years after Phil de Glanville won the Champions Cup with the Blue, Black and Whites, his fullback son Tom is an integral part of the Class of 2025.