Mike Ford tells Leinster not to lose hope of qualifying

Dai Young was adamant after Wasps’ win in Dublin that Leinster weren’t done in Pool Five of the European Champions Cup.

His Bath counterpart Mike Ford said as much on Saturday evening after his side had condemned the Irish province to a second defeat in two games.

Ford’s words sounded less plausible given the double dose of pain. Yet the former Ireland defence coach was not simply dishing out empty soundbites as Bath qualified for the quarter-finals last year despite losing their opening fixtures to Glasgow and Toulouse.