Bath’s Bright Start Fades as Montpellier Run Away at The Rec

Bath Montpellier Champions Cup rugby produced a sobering opening night for the home side at The Rec, where Montpellier recovered from a half-time deficit to win 32-14. Bath had led 14-10 early in the second half before conceding 22 unanswered points.

First half: tries traded in a tight contest

Stuart Hogg opened the scoring with the first try of the match, but Bath responded through Ollie Lawrence and Arthur Green. Finn Russell converted both tries. Adam Hastings kept Montpellier in touch with a penalty before the interval, leaving the visitors 14-10 down at the break.

Second half: the match turns

Bath had a chance to extend their lead when Joe Cokanasiga failed to gather a pass with the tryline open. Montpellier punished that miss. Donovan Taofifenua scored his first try, Hastings added a penalty, and then Taofifenua intercepted a Finn Russell pass on halfway to score his second. Hastings finished with three conversions and two penalties. Alex Becognee added a late try from close range.

Disallowed tries and defensive resolve

Bath had a try ruled out in each half. Max Ojomoh’s effort was disallowed for a knock-on, while Josh Bayliss was denied by an earlier infringement. Montpellier also produced an excellent defensive spell before Taofifenua’s second try, keeping Bath scoreless after the break.

What it means for Bath

Bath’s remaining Pool Four fixtures are against Cardiff, Bulls and Stade Francais. Earlier on Saturday, Bulls beat Stade Francais 56-20, with Cheswill Jooste scoring a hat-trick. The result added to a disappointing Saturday for English clubs: Sale, Bristol and Saracens also lost their opening pool fixtures, while Gloucester drew with Bordeaux on Friday. Leicester, Exeter and Northampton were scheduled to play on Sunday.

Montpellier, last season’s Challenge Cup winners and beaten Top 14 finalists, showed their quality after the break. For Bath, who had scored at least 33 points in each of their first three Premiership games, the challenge now is to regroup before their remaining pool matches.