Quarter-final: Bath 43-41 Northampton
Hosts recover from 21 points behind in first half
There are big games and then there are pivotal contests which define entire campaigns. And when it came to the crunch it was Bath who just had enough power to make the semi-finals of the Champions Cup for the first time in 20 years thanks to a 76th minute try from Ted Hill. There is little to separate the two best teams in England and here was another endlessly compelling battle of wits and wills.
Plenty of work still has to be done to reach the final in Bilbao next month with Bath now set to face the winners of Sunday’s mouthwatering all-French tie between Bordeaux and Toulouse. This was a truly sensational hors d’oeuvre, though, with nine tries in the first half alone. Gone are the days of tiptoeing into knockout matches and hoping to edge it 9-6.
It was a humdinger from start to finish. From 28-7 down after just 22 minutes, Bath came roaring back to trail by only 38-33 with 20 minutes left with their opponents temporarily down to 14 players. From there their forward strength tipped the scales, although in some ways it was a shame that one side had to lose although there could yet be a sequel in this year’s Prem final.
