Bath v Clermont Auvergne: Five takeaways as ‘impressive’ Joe Cokanasiga ‘remains a conundrum’ following key Champions Cup triumph
Joe Cokanasiga in action against Clermont Auvergne and Bath celebrate try in Champions Cup.
Following a 40-21 victory for Bath over Clermont Auvergne, here are our five takeaways from the Investec Champions Cup encounter at the Rec on Sunday.
The top line
A spirited display by ASM Clermont, who played much of the match with 14 men, was simply not enough to repel a classy display from Johann van Graan’s Bath team, who scored a brace of tries within a moment of the kick off and never looked back.
It was a massive performance by the men from the Rec, with Ollie Lawrence, Finn Russell, Ben Spencer and player of the match Thomas du Toit shining for the home team as they grabbed six tries, courtesy of Tom de Glanville, Russell, Joe Cokanasiga, Du Toit (2) and Lawrence.
However, ASM will rue a moment of white line fever in the last moments of the match as they chased two bonus points. Peceli Yato, absolutely outstanding all evening, took a quick tap penalty away from his support and got turned over as his teammates bellowed at him to allow another lineout and driving maul. The drama didn’t end there either, as from the ensuing scrum, ASM were incandescent with rage as Bath appeared to hold on in contact, a clear and obvious penalty, but Mike Adamson saw it differently and blew up for a rather controversial ‘no-side’.
Implications
Pool 2 is one of the most complex in the competition with some wonderful teams fighting it out for qualification. As it stands, only Leinster are assured of qualification and Round Four will see Bristol travelling to Clermont, Benetton hosting La Rochelle, and Bath travelling to Leinster.
Leinster might be home and hosed but they will be going full throttle to gain home advantage in the knockout stages. Meanwhile, Bath’s seven points might leave them short of qualification status, so they will also go in fully loaded against the Irishmen. La Rochelle need to win against a Benetton side fuming at their perceived injustice at Ashton Gate on Sunday, but La Rochelle need at least two points to ensure qualification.
Bath join Benetton, who grabbed two bonus points, in joint third place but had ASM kept their nerve in those closing moments it might have been so different.
Hot Bath
Bath have been a team that build into the game this season, tending to leave their scoring until the later parts of the match. But today, they started red hot as Tom de Glanville was the beneficiary of some brilliant work from his centres, Lawrence and Max Ojomoh, as he crossed in the first minute of the game.
A few moments later, Russell himself crashed over after deft invention from the brilliant Lawrence, followed by Joe Cokanasiga, impressing the onlooking Steve Borthwick, although he’ll be glad his defensive fumble that could have seen Anthony Belleau – outstanding for Clermont – scorch over for a second try. Belleau matched Russell blow for blow in terms of game control, dragging his team back into contention after that lightning start for the home team.
Lawrence was at his effervescent best all evening, fusing some real physicality with deft touches and fast footwork in attack, combining brilliantly with Max Ojomoh as both centres carried over 10 times apiece for the hosts. Could it be both men will get the England call tomorrow? Time will tell.
ASM pride
Clermont can take a lot out of this game. When Giorgi Akhaladze was given his marching orders for a high tackle in the 24th minute, with the score at 21-7, it looked for all money that ASM would crumble under the Bath pressure.
But, with 14 men they dug as deep as they could and mounted a thrilling comeback as Folau Fainga’a, Anthony Belleau and the brilliant Yato all got on the scoresheet, grabbing three tries in reply.
Alongside Yato, Marcos Kremer put in another memorable performance of heft and grunt, providing us with the moment of the match as Finn Russell ran into his formidable chest only to bounce back three metres from whence he came!
Yato, Kremer and replacement Seb Bezy matched Bath blow for blow up front and with (yet) another brilliant French scrum-half Baptiste Jauneau having a fine outing, there was a lot for the French side to take away. It could have been so much more in the shape of two bonus points but for the moment of madness in the last moment of the game from Yato.
Test watch
Aside from Lawrence’s superb performance, Cokanasiga remains a conundrum for the England coaches. A blistering finisher with ball in hand, his aerial game, despite being 6’5”, lacks any form of surety and given the way England use their wings down the tramlines in chasing kicks, it might well be that the flaws in the blueprint the national side needs cancels out the brilliant finishing he offers in open spaces.
In the Bath back-row Ted Hill showed his athleticism and all-round skill set up against one of the biggest and best in the game; Kremer. Hill didn’t take a backward step in a classy display that should see him included.
His partners in crime, Alfie Barbeary and Miles Reid, are both outsiders for squad selection. Barbeary was a carrying focal point for Bath, really causing ASM some issues with his power, whilst Miles Reed might not be one that grabs the headlines, but the utility forward can play across the back-row and is an outside bet should Borthwick need that level of versatility.
With Bath struggling in the lineout but wining the collision, expect to see Charlie Ewels retain his place, and there’s little doubt that Beno Obano will be in the debate after a thundering display in this match.