The sheer size of Bath's achievement in winning the Heineken European Cup on French soil is in danger of being over-shadowed by a bitter political row over the future of the competition that could make the momentous events at the Stade Lescure in Bordeaux seem like an English garden party by comparison.
Ranged against each other, fang and claw at the ready, are the leading English clubs who want to shape Europe in their own image and the increasingly isolated Rugby Football Union who have very different ideas.
Bath, the first British side to win the European crown, are naturally determined to defend their title in next season's tournament even though the English clubs have formally withdrawn. As the consequences of their stunning victory over the holders dawned on the RFU's would-be movers and shakers, it became clear that Bath will have no truck with Fran Cotton's ill-conceived attempt to resurrect the antediluvian division of sides under a new name for entry into Europe.
So often the trend-setters in the English game, Bath at a stroke have blown a huge hole in Twickenham's European strategy as well as reviving their own season in unexpected style. The support of the paying public now looks certain to swing firmly behind a club-based competition that gives Bath and other top English sides further opportunities to be in Europe. It is imperative that the clubs get their act together quickly under the umbrella of English Rugby Partnership (ERP) and start calling the shots in the corridors of power.
"Look at what happened to English soccer when English clubs were banned from Europe in the early 1980s - in competitive terms the game went backwards not forwards," pointed out Andy Robinson, the Bath coach. "I would like to tell the RFU that English clubs do represent the way forward. We can make the England team stronger if we stay in Europe."
Twickenham's attempt to step into the breach with representative teams staffed exclusively by England-qualified players is in effect a thinly-veiled form of ethnic cleansing designed to push out Celts, Frenchmen and southern-hemisphere stars who have done so much to give the Premiership greater competitive credibility. Bath's latest triumph, it should be noted, was gained with Scots, Welshmen and an American in the line-up, in addition to eight England internationals.
Bath, who have always adopted a pluralist approach to recruitment, believe the cause of English rugby will be helped by a healthy blend of overseas players with locals: there is plenty of evidence that other clubs such as Leicester, Northampton and Saracens support their view. The RFU policy outlined last week by Cotton is a crude attempt to strengthen the Union's power base and ultimately bring the top English players together under contract to the Union instead of the clubs. Cotton blithely ignores the fact that neither the players nor the fans have ever wanted to be involved with divisional teams, let alone see them compete in Europe.
Jonathan Callard, who has been dropped and recalled by Bath more times than he can remember, said the knock-on effect of winning the cup would be felt throughout English rugby. "It's good for the sport that an English club won it - obviously it would be a blow if we were unable to take part in next season's competition. If it's going to remain a meaningful competition it has to continue in club form. I think the whole tournament has been magnificent - its success speaks for itself."
Those who witness the marvellous explosion of sound and colour created by 38,000 passionate supporters will have few doubts about the value of a knock-out competition that so easily transcends national barriers. While it is true the final could have benefited from more than one try (by Callard) and less numerous errors, no-one could fail to be gripped by the suspense and sheer intensity of a contest always poised on a knife-edge. Pretty it wasn't: stomach-churning certainly.
When Brive led 9-0, 12-3, and then 15-6 before half time it seemed their super-cool goal-kicker Christophe Lamaison might settle the outcome on his own initiative. Certainly Bath were living dangerously, relying on the referee's decision to deny a possible try by Olivier Magne and later on a desperate ankle tap by Ieuan Evans to stop Sebastian Carrat breaking clear down the left flank. In every sense Brive deserved to be ahead on points.
Nevertheless Bath, despite a strange lack of organisation in crucial areas, competed tenaciously in the rucks and mauls, denying Brive the quick early ball they craved and driving round the fringes with enough vigour to set up guerrilla attacks down the flanks. The turning point came early in the second half when Brive failed to get any change from six successive scrums on the Bath line.
Once Callard had scored his 56th-minute try, thanks to good close quarter work by Dan Lyle and a sweet pass by Jeremy Guscott, Bath rapidly gained momentum and, with it, the lion's share of control. Even then a splendid drop goal by Alain Penaud gave Brive an 18-13 lead which Callard swiftly cut back to two points with his third penalty goal. In the 80th minute Yann Manhes, in a moment of madness, stuck an elbow in the face of Adedayo Adebayo and Callard, cool as ice, steered home the penalty for a one-point win.
Brive: A Penaud; J Carrat, C Lamaison, D Venditti, S Carrat; L Arbizu, P Carbonneau (Capt); D Casadei, L Travers, R Crespy, E Alegret, Y Manhes, L van der Linden, F Duboisset, O Magne.
Bath: J Callard; I Evans, P De Glanville, J Guscott, A Adebayo; M Catt, A Nicol; D Hilton, M Regan, V Ubogu, N Redman, M Haag, N Thomas, D Lyle, R Webster.
Referee: J Flemming (Scotland)
