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Hooper: Bath changing room 'gutted' after Clermont rout

By Online Editors
Aled Brew caught in a mid-air collision

Bath director of rugby Stuart Hooper bemoaned a shocking first-half performance as his team were hammered 52-26 by Clermont Auvergne in the Heineken Champions Cup.

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Hooper’s men were 40-14 down at the break after conceding six tries as Clermont recorded a bonus point inside just 20 minutes.

Alivereti Raka and George Moala both grabbed doubles after tries from John Ulugia and Damian Penaud, before well-beaten Bath regrouped in the second half to grab a bonus point of their own.

Hooper said: “It was always going to be a tough ask to come here and win. In the first half we were absolutely nowhere near where we needed to be.

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“We made error upon error and gave a quick and powerful team the opportunity to get into the game. We were out there, but not competing.

“As we went into the second half we talked about giving ourselves an opportunity and scoring four tries was the outcome of that.

“Clermont are a quality team and when we gave up possession and penalties it gave them an opportunity.

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“When we get under pressure we need to be better at adapting to that. We have to address it and get more width in our defence.

“The changing room is obviously gutted. No one in there wants to put in that sort of performance and rightly so.

“We can’t be in a position where that is acceptable and we need to respond now going into the London Irish week.”

Camille Lopez and Jake McIntyre completed Clermont’s eight-try haul after the break, but the French side did not hit the same heights in the second half.

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Jack Walker and Ruaridh McConnochie scored for Bath before the break and the visitors did rally as the game went on.

It allowed Tom Dunn and Josh Bayliss to both score and secure the bonus point before Sam Nixon was yellow carded for cynically trying to stop a Clermont attack.

Clermont are now a point behind Ulster at the top of Pool 3.

Number eight Fritz Lee said: “Credit to our team, it wasn’t an easy game. We score a lot of tries in the first 20 minutes of games, but then it’s a challenge physically and mentally.

“This win will give us massive confidence. Ulster’s win over Harlequins made it difficult for us and every single point matters.

“We have to focus on ourselves and not focus on anybody else. Sometimes we are our own worst enemies, but we are looking forward to playing against Ulster.

“I think we have the team to go all the way, it’s just a matter of injuries.

“Hopefully some guys will come back to help us and we’ve got a massive opportunity with two games to go.”

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Trevor 18 minutes ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 4 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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