Bath Rugby produced an impressive performance, defeating Pau 49-24 in the last 16 knockout round of the EPCR Challenge Cup. Despite England’s Sam Underhill receiving a red card in the 55th minute, Bath Rugby managed to score seven tries during the match. Ciaran Donoghue played a pivotal role in the victory, successfully converting all seven attempts from the kicking tee. Pau’s efforts were not enough to match Bath’s attacking prowess, with Carwyn Tuipulotu and Fabien Brau-Boirie scoring the only tries for the French side.
Bath Rugby’s swift start saw them capitalize on an early opportunity, with Ben Spencer setting up a try for Will Muir within the first two minutes. Pau responded with a penalty from Alex Desperes, but Bath extended their lead with another try by Joe Cokanasiga. Pau’s Carwyn Tuipulotu managed to score a try, but Bath swiftly retaliated with a remarkable 70-meter run by Donoghue, leading to a try by Beno Obano. A try from Josh Bayliss further strengthened Bath’s lead, ending the first half at 28-10 in their favor. The second half saw Tom Dunn scoring a try shortly after the restart, before Sam Underhill was shown a red card. Despite the setback, Ruaridh McConnochie’s try and a strong defensive display secured Bath’s victory.
Bath Rugby will now await the winner of the match between Montpellier and Gloucester to determine their opponents in the quarter-finals.
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Pau: 15. Aymeric Luc, 14. Eliott Roudil (c), 13. Olivier Klemenczak, 12. Fabien Brau-Boirie, 11. Aaron Grandidier Nkanang, 10. Axel Desperes, 9. Thomas Souverbie, 1. Ignacio Calles, 2. Youri Delhommel, 3. Harry Williams, 4. Thomas Jolmes, 5. Lekima Tagitagivalu, 6. Joel Kpoku, 7. Thibaut Hamonou, 8. Carwyn Tuipulotu
Replacements: 16. Romain Ruffenach, 17. Hugo Parrou, 18. Siate Tokolahi, 19. Remi Picquette, 20. Jimi Maximin, 21. Reece Hewat, 22. Dan Robson, 23. Tumua Manu
Bath Rugby: 15. Ruaridh McConnochie, 14. Joe Cokanasiga, 13. Max Ojomoh, 12. Will Butt, 11. Will Muir, 10. Ciaran Donoghue, 9. Ben Spencer (c), 1. Beno Obano, 2. Tom Dunn, 3. Archie Griffin, 4. Quinn Roux, 5. Ross Molony, 6. Josh Bayliss, 7. Sam Underhill, 8. Miles Reid
Replacements: 16. Kepu Tuipulotu, 17. Francois van Wyk, 18. Kieran Verden, 19. Ewan Richards, 20. Ted Hill, 21. Tom Carr-Smith, 22. Orlando Bailey, 23. Jaco Coetzee