Gallagher Premiership leaders Bath tackle 2022 champions Lyon in the final of this season’s EPCR Challenge Cup at the Principality Stadium on Friday.
Friday 21 May
Principality Stadium at 21:00
2/9 Bath | Draw 28/1 | Lyon 7/2
Handicap
Bath (-11.5) 9/10 | Lyon (+11.5) 9/10
Bath are currently 15-points clear at the summit of the Gallagher Premiership standings with one round remaining and have already picked up one form of silverware this season in the Premiership Rugby Cup. With a unique treble very much in reach, and coming into this one off the back of a 43-15 mauling of Leicester Tigers, the 2008 Challenge Cup winners certainly won’t be lacking in either motivation or confidence in Cardiff.
The Somerset club have been buoyed by their in-form halfback combination of Ben Spencer and Finn Russell, who were again at the forefront of the defeat of Tigers on the weekend, while their lineout efficiency is another big boon for Johann van Graan’s side – three of their tries against Leicester came from this facet of play. Still, none of this will matter if they can’t match the Lyon power play and shut down their destructive ball carriers.
Karim Ghezal’s team aren’t having their greatest domestic campaign by a long shot, however, currently placed 11th in the Top 14 and adrift of the playoff bracket by four points.
They also came unstuck in a one-point loss at Stade Francais on Saturday after conceding a 78th-minute penalty; not ideal preparation for a game of this magnitude.
Still, their Challenge Cup form has been good enough to get them this far, and the experience of having won the competition just three years ago will stand them in good stead as they look to salvage something from their season.
The sheer variety and creativity of Bath’s attack will demand much from Lyon, but if they stay focused and find ways to provide space for the likes of Semi Radradra and Arno Botha, they will cause damage themselves.
Verdict: Bath on the board
In what is likely to be a high-scoring try-fest, Bath’s consistency and confidence should help elevate them to a rare double at Les Loups’ expense.
