Bath pay price for first-half flop

Bath coach John Connolly was left to rue a disastrous first-half performance as he watched his side get knocked out of Europe at Stade Marcel Michelin today.

The Zurich Premiership front-runners crashed to a 38-22 defeat as Montferrand turned around a 14-point deficit after the first leg of the semi-final to sneak into the Parker Pen Challenge Cup final with a two-point overall advantage.

Bath were trailing 3-28 after the first half, and the mountain was always going to be a difficult one to climb.

“The damage was done in that first half,” Connolly admitted. “We played very poorly and you can’t afford to do that at this level.

“We were just too loose across the board and it cost us. Having said that, I still thought we were a chance at halftime – we just came up short.”

Connolly sent on England veteran Mike Catt in the 50th minute and the midfield magician was a major part of Bath’s second-half comeback.

“Mike’s been injured for a while, so he started on the bench,” the Australian-born coach said. “He was always going to come on just after halftime, and he very nearly did it for us.”

Connolly said Bath still had a lot to play for this season.

“It’s not the end of the world for us – we’ve got some play-offs to look forward to and we’re now aiming at them.

“Iain Balshaw is out for the season, but Mike Tindall and Dave Flatman should be back next week.

“Duncan Bell strained a calf today, but that’s probably our most serious injury.”