Bath throw it all away in first half

MONTFERRAND...38 BATH...22: Bath coach John Connolly blamed a poor first-half performance for their Parker Pen Challenge Cup semi-final defeat against Montferrand at Stade Marcel Michelin on Saturday.

The English side 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 in with a chance at half-time - we just came up short."

Bath went into the match without key backs Mike Tindall and Iain Balshaw and prop David Flatman and were not helped when tighthead prop Duncan Bell limped off after five minutes.

Montferrand took immediate advantage and never looked back as the Bath pack disintegrated and their backs began to panic.

Two tries in the last eight minutes narrowed Montferrand's overall lead to two points, but it was too little, too late for Bath.

Montferrand full back Anthony Floch opened the scoring with an early penalty goal, and when home skipper Tony Marsh bulldozed his way over the line in the 15th minute, Bath's 14-point first-leg advantage was looking very shaky.

It was virtually gone when Floch slotted a superb sideline conversion.

It took Bath 20 minutes to launch their first attack on the Montferrand line, and it ended in disaster. A loose ball in midfield was toed ahead by scrumhalf Pierre Mignoni, gathered by winger David Bory and passed back to Mignoni, who had a trouble-free 65-metre run-in.

Floch converted and the French club suddenly had a three-point overall advantage.

Bath outhalf Olly Barkley and Floch (two) traded penalty goals as the home side took a 23-3 lead past the half-hour mark, and Marsh put the result beyond doubt with a try in the opposite corner.

Floch slotted his fourth penalty goal after 50 minutes before French flanker Olivier Magne found room out wide to repeat his try-scoring feat of the first leg.

Bath number eight Isaac Feaunati crashed over for a dubious try before wingers Simon Danielli and Wylie Human also touched down, but the visitors ran out of time.

Montferrand play Harlequins in the cup final for a berth in the Heineken Cup next season.

MONTFERRAND: A Floch; A Rougerie, F Comba, T Marsh (capt), S Kuzbik; G Merceron, J Moreau; B Moyle, R Cockerill, D Attoub, E Pearce, H Louw, M Dieude, O Magne, M Raynaud

BATH: M Perry; W Human, R Fleck, K Maggs, S Danielli; O Barkley, M Wood; D Barnes, J Humphreys, D Bell, S Borthwick, D Grewcock, A Beattie, M Lipman, I Feaunati.