Bath Rugby hosted Stade Rochelais in Bath on Friday evening in the first of the 2025/2025 Investec Champions Cup, but could not complete their comeback in the second half after trailing 06-21 at the halftime break. Stade Rochelais held on to win 24-20.
Despite Bath’s best efforts to build on their impressive start to the second half, it was Stade Rochelais who remained strong and claimed the first four points in Pool 2. Bath claimed the bonus point after they were right on Stade Rochelais' tails at the end of the tie, positioning themselves in the second spot in the group after its opening game.
Both sets of players managed the conditions well, with Ihaia West and Finn Russell looking unfazed despite the strong winds and driving rain.
With a strong tackle success rate (87%) for the visitors, they managed to hold off the 267 metres made by Bath throughout the encounter, putting their surprise defeat to RC Vannes behind them in the perfect way possible.
Stade Rochelais opened their account for the season after forcing the ball into touch following a ruck. The TOP 14 side soon extended their lead to 03-07 in Bath after Ihaia West duly converted.
Things started well for the hosts under the driving English rain, with Finn Russell opening the scoring from the penalty spot from a close distance to take the hosts into a 03-00 lead.
But Stade Rochelais made sure to hit back strongly and the visitors breached the home side’s defence three times in total. Making his return into the starting XV for the Investec Champions Cup opener, Tawrea Kerr-Barlow's evening got off to a superb start, with the scrum-half touching down in front of the home crowd to extend the French side's lead.
Ihaia West was faultless from the spot following the tries, converting all three for his side, making sure not to let the adverse weather conditions affect him at The Rec.
It was a strong first half from the visitors, which Bath ended up trailing by 06-21.
The hosts made sure to hit the ground running as they came back out for the second half.
After Tom Dunn quickly got Bath back on track with his try in the 47th minute, a faultless Finn Russell made no mistake for the conversion, with him utilising the wind to bend his kick in between the posts.
Quinn Roux then profited off an unfortunate bounce in the Stade Rochelais in-goal area. Unable to stem the free ball with the posts getting in his way, Tawera Kerr-Barlow saw the ball escape his grasp and was powerless to stop a charging Roux from touching down, 20-21.
The French side then put this behind them in the best way possible thanks to an Ihaia West penalty to take the score to 20-24.
As is the way with club rugby’s greatest tournament, Bath will now have all eyes on next week to try and get their Investec Champions Cup campaign back on track. It will be another demanding contest for the English side, which will travel to Italy to take on Benetton Rugby.
As for Stade Rochelais, they will want to push on next week when they host Bristol Bears to extend their lead at the top of Pool 2.
Scorers:
Bath Rugby: Tries: Tom Dunn, Quinn Roux. Conversions: Finn Russell (2). Penalties: Finn Russell (2).
Stade Rochelais: Oscar Jegou, Reda Wardi, Tawera Kerr-Barlow. Conversions: Ihaia West (3). Penalty: Ihaia West.
Teams:
Bath Rugby: 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Cameron Redpath, 12 Will Butt, 11 Will Muir, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer (captain), 8 Miles Reid, 7 Guy Pepper, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Thomas du Toit. Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Max Ojomoh, 23 Jaco Coetzee.
Stade Rochelais: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 UJ Seuteni, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Grégory Alldritt (captain), 7 Matthias Haddad, 6 Oscar Jegou, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Thomas Lavault, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Tolu Latu, 1 Reda Wardi. Replacements: 16 Quentin Lespiaucq, 17 Louis Penverne, 18 Georges-Henri Colombe, 19 Kane Douglas, 20 Levani Botia, 21 Thomas Berjon, 22 Hugo Reus, 23 Teddy Thomas.