Bok scores as Bath routs Kitshoff's Ulster
SATURDAY WRAP: Bath produced a second-half rout to start their Champions Cup campaign with a 37-14 win over Ulster at The Rec.
Wing Joe Cokanasiga scored two tries, as Bath bounced back from trailing 8-14 at the half-time break to take a full house of five points from the game.
Cokanasiga scored the first and fourth try, with prop Tom Dunn, Springbok Thomas du Toit and fullback Matt Gallagher also going over.
The second-half rout of the Irish province resulted in a losing start for Ulster’s World Cup-winning Springbok prop Steven Kitshodd.
The match’s early stages were tight, with Bath flyhalf Finn Russell uncharacteristically missing the match’s only real chance up to that point with a penalty.
But the breakthrough eventually came for Bath Rugby in the 27th minute from a beautiful pass by scrumhalf Ben Spencer out to Cokanasiga, who darted into the corner to finish.
Spencer – a three-time winner of EPCR’s elite competition with Saracens – missed the conversion, but he didn’t make any mistakes from under the posts moments later when he kicked a penalty to put Bath Rugby 8-0 up.
But then, in the blink of an eye, Ulster took the lead.
First, flyhalf Billy Burns improvised well to go over, with Nathan Doak kicking the extras to bring them within one. Then the fullback scored one of his own, Ulster racing away with brilliant hands down the right flank with Doak both going over and converting to put the visitors six to the good at the break.
But Bath came out well in the second period, and scored an early try in their typical manner from as the pack drove hard from a line-out deep in Ulster territory. It was prop Tom Dunn who made the final metre, with Spencer converting to put Bath up 15-14.
The game remained tight, but Bath were now clearly on top with their scrum dominating, a fact which saw prop Beno Obano deservedly named Man of the Match.
Russell soon kicked his first points from the tee to stretch Bath’s lead to four. Things got worse for the visitors when replacement Matty Rea was sent to the sin bin, and the game was all but put to bed when replacement Thomas du Toit made the breakthrough and battled his way over the line, Spencer additional the additional two.
Bath were not done, and they sealed their win and excellent second-half performance with a try from fullback Gallagher. Replacement Orlando Bailey added the extras with the clock in the red.
* Earlier in an extraordinary Champions Cup Round One match, Exeter Chiefs centre Henry Slade kicked a winning conversion with the clock in the red to give his side a famous 19-18 win at Stade Felix Mayol.
Toulon flank Charles Ollivon was named Man of the Match with five minutes left to play as the Top 14 side looked set to hold on against a hard-working Exeter Chiefs, but a late try from flank Jacques Vermeulen put Exeter Chiefs within one, before Slade kicked the winning extras to stun Toulon.
* Munster were stunned by Champions Cup debutants Aviron Bayonnais, who earned a 17-all draw at Thomond Park after a hugely impressive performance.
Munster led 14-3 at the break after tries from wing Shay McCarthy and No.8 Gavin Coombes, but Aviron Bayonnais staged a stunning second-half performance to force a draw with a try from wing Rémy Baget and conversion from flyhalf Thomas Dolhagaray.
* Bristol Bears edged a 36-34 win over Lyon in their first Champions Cup Pool Two game, with Callum Sheedy kicking a drop-goal with the clock in the red to triumph in an all-time classic.
All Saturday’s scores and scorers …
Toulon 18-19 Exeter Chiefs
The scorers
For Toulon
Tries: Gigashvili, White
Cons: Herve
Pens: Herve 2
For Exeter Chiefs
Tries: Skinner, Norey, Vermeulen
Cons: Slade 2
Yellow card: Brian Alainu’uese (Toulon, 30)
Teams
Toulon: 15 Melvyn Jaminet, 14 Gaël Drean, 13 Waisea Nayacalevu, 12 Mathieu Smaili, 11 Gabin Villiere, 10 Enzo Herve, 9 Ben White, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 Esteban Abadie, 5 Brian Alainu’uese, 4 Matthias Halagahu, 3 Beka Gigashvili, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Bruce Devaux.
Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Dany Priso, 18 Emerick Setiano, 19 David Ribbans, 20 Cornell du Preez, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Leicester Fainga’anuku, 23 Maelan Rabut.
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Tom Wyatt, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Ben Hammersley, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Tom Cairns, 8 Greg Fisilau, 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Dafydd Jenkins, 4 Rus Tuima, 3 Ehren Painter, 2 Dan Frost, 1 Scott Sio.
Replacements: 16 Max Norey, 17 Nika Abuladze, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Lewis Pearson, 20 Ross Vintcent, 21 Stu Townsend, 22 Rory O’Loughlin, 23 Olly Woodburn.
Referee: Chris Busby (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Andrew Cole (Ireland), Oisin Quinn (Ireland)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ireland)
Bath 37-14 Ulster
The scorers
For Bath
Tries: Cokanasiga 2, Dunn, Du Toit, Gallagher
Cons: Spencer 2, Bailey
Pens: Spencer 2
For Ulster
Tries: Burns, Doak
Cons: Doak 2
Yellow card: Matty Rea (Ulster, 65)
Teams
Bath: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Will Muir, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Alfie Barbeary, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Miles Reid, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano.
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 GJ van Velze, 20 Jaco Coetzee, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Will Butt.
Ulster: 15 Stewart Moore, 14 Robert Baloucoune, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 James McNabney. 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Alan O’Connor, 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Tom Stewart, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Andrew Warwick, 18 Marty Moore, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Matty Rea, 21 John Cooney, 22 Jake Flannery, 23 Mike Lowry.
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant referees: Flavien Hourquet (France), Kevin Bralley (France)
TMO: Denis Grenouillet (France)
Toulouse 52-7 Cardiff
The scorers
For Toulouse
Tries: Lebel, Arnold, Kinghorn 2, Jelonch, Retiere, Placines
Cons: Ramos 5, Germain 2
Pen: Ramos
For Cardiff
Try: Martin
Con: De Beer
Yellow card: Willis Halaholo (Cardiff, 37)
Teams
Toulouse: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Matthis Lebel, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Arthur Retiere, 10 Thomas Ramos, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Alexandre Roumat, 7 Anthony Jelonch, 6 Thibaud Flament, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Richie Arnold, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Cyril Baille.
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Cramont, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Piula Faasalele, 20 Alban Placines, 21 Paul Costes, 22 Baptiste Germain, 23 Santiago Chocobares.
Cardiff: 15 Jacob Beetham, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Willis Halaholo, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Mason Grady, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Tomos Williams 8 Mackenzie Martin, 7 Lucas de la Rua, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Teddy Williams, 4 Rory Thornton, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Efan Daniel, 1 Rhys Carré.
Replacements: 16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Rhys Litterick, 19 Josh Turnbull, 20 Alun Lawrence, 21 Ellis Bevan, 22 Harri Millard, 23 Owen Lane.
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe (England)
Assistant referees: Hamish Grant (England), Jamie Leahy (England)
TMO: David Rose (England)
Munster 17-17 Bayonne
The scorers
For Munster
Tries: McCarthy, Coombes
Cons: Crowley 2
Pen: Crowley
For Bayonne
Tries: Tagi, Baget
Cons: Machenaud, Dolhagaray
Pen: Machenaud
Teams
Munster: 15 Calvin Nash, 14 Shay McCarthy, 13 Alex Nankivell, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Seán O’Brien, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Tom Ahern, 5 Tadhg Beirne (captain), 4 Fineen Wycherley, 3 John Ryan, 2 Scott Buckley, 1 Jeremy Loughman.
Replacements: 16 Eoghan Clarke, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Jack O’Donoghue, 20 Alex Kendellen, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Tony Butler, 23 Ben O’Connor.
Bayonne: 15 Cheikh Tiberghien, 14 Bastien Pourailly, 13 Peyo Muscarditz, 12 Riko Buliruarua, 11 Rémy Baget, 10 Thomas Dolhagaray, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Rodrigo Bruni, 7 Baptiste Heguy, 6 Pierre Huguet, 5 Kote Mikautadze, 4 Denis Marchois, 3 Tevita Tatafu, 2 Facundo Bosch, 1 Matis Perchaud.
Replacements: 16 Thomas Acquier, 17 Swan Cormenier, 18 Junior Tagi, 19 Arthur Iturria, 20 Rémi Bourdeau, 21 Gela Aprasidze, 22 Arnaud Erbinartegaray, 23 Tom Spring.
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant referees: Karl Dickson (England), Peter Allan (England)
TMO: Dan Jones (England)
Bristol Bears 36-34 Lyon
The scorers
For Bristol Bears
Tries: Lane, Luatua, Thacker, Randall, Oghre
Cons: Sheedy 4
DG: Sheedy
For Lyon
Tries: Dumortier, Okuya, Abrahams 2, Radradra, Parisien
Cons: Page-Relo, Tchaptchet
Yellow cards: Alban Roussel (Lyon, 45), Kalaveti Ravouvou (Bristol Bears, 63)
Teams
Bristol Bears: 15 Max Malins, 14 Gabriel Ibitoye, 13 Virimi Vakatawa, 12 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 11 Rich Lane, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Magnus Bradbury, 7 Fitz Harding (captain), 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Joe Batley, 4 James Dun, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Jake Woolmore.
Replacements: 16 Gabriel Oghre, 17 Sam Grahamslaw, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Josh Caulfield, 20 Dan Thomas, 21 Sam Wolstenholme, 22 James Williams, 23 Kalaveti Ravouvou.
Lyon: 15 Thaakir Abrahams, 14 Ethan Dumortier, 13 Alfred Parisien, 12 Semi Radradra, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Fletcher Smith, 9 Martin Page-Relo, 8 Mickael Guillard, 7 Pierre-Samuel Pacheco, 6 Marvin Okuya, 5 Killian Geraci, 4 Joel Kpoku, 3 Paulo Tafili, 2 Yanis Charcosset, 1 Sébastien Taofifenua.
Replacements: 16 Liam Coltman, 17 Jérôme Rey, 18 Feao Fotuaika, 19 Alban Roussel, 20 Ugo Vignolles, 21 Liam Rimet, 22 Kyle Godwin, 23 Alexandre Tchaptchet.
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ben Breakspear (Wales), Gwyn Morris (Wales)
TMO: Ian Davies (Wales)
* Source: @ChampionsCup
