Matt Banahan on an opportunity lost and gained for 'gun favourites' Bath

Matt Banahan believes his former club Bath have already missed one opportunity in Europe but doesn’t expect them to come up short a second time.

The Bath legend will be calling the action at Hive Stadium this Saturday as a commentator for Premier Sports as Bath try and book their place in the final of the Challenge Cup with a win over Edinburgh.

Banahan, who scored 100 tries for the club in 12 seasons, is backing the blue, black and whites to move one step closer to a second trophy of the year, but part of him feels that given Bath’s pedigree, they should still be fighting for silverware in the top-tier Investec Champions Cup.

Bath dropped down into the Challenge Cup after finishing second-from-bottom in their Champions Cup pool. Narrow defeats in their first two matches, at home to an under-performing La Rochelle outfit and Benetton away, having fielded a weakened team in Italy, left them with too much to do to qualify for the knockout stages.

“I think they’ll probably be a bit annoyed that they didn’t take the first couple of rounds as serious as they probably should of, because they should still be the top competition, the Champions Cup, because they have probably got one of the best squads in the Premiership and we have seen how high Northampton have got,” Banahan said.

While Northampton will be playing Leinster in front of 50,000+ at the Aviva Stadium in the Champions Cup this weekend, Bath will face Edinburgh with fewer than 10,000 fans in attendance at what amounts to a prefab ground in the shadow of Murrayfield.

Nonetheless, it is another important occasion for Bath, as they look to continue their bid for a trophy treble.

Having bagged the Premiership Rugby Cup back in March, Bath are two wins away from lifting their first European silverware since 2008, as well as being red-hot favourites to win the Premiership.

Banahan, who is backs coach to Scotland’s Women, can’t see Edinburgh stopping Bath in their tracks, as they look to maintain momentum going into a crunch six weeks.

“They’re a team full of confidence, they’re a team playing at a level above the majority of teams. It is a very impressive outfit that we are watching unfold in front of us. Even in games where they have rotation in the squad and injuries, there never seems to be a decline in form, stats or team morale. They are definitely the gun favourites in the Challenge Cup,” the ex-England international said.

Head-to-Head

Last 2 Meetings

Wins

1

Draws

0

Wins

1

Average Points scored

33

29

First try wins

50%

Home team wins

50%

Banahan has first-hand experience of winning the Challenge Cup, he was a key member of the last Bath team to do so in 2008, scoring six tries in eight appearances, including playing in the 24-16 win over Worcester in the final.

“Winning a European competition is massive, you have memories that last a lifetime,” he said.

“I hope these boys get an opportunity to win a European trophy and create their own legacy because they are a fantastic group of players, the coaching staff is great and the world is their oyster at the minute.

“Their goal will be winning this Challenge Cup and creating momentum and confidence going into the Premiership, where they’ll be hoping to go one better than last year when they lost in the final.

“They’ll want to win all three.”

Matt Banahan will be part of the Premier Sports team bringing live coverage of Edinburgh v Bath Rugby this Saturday in the EPCR Challenge Cup semi-final with all the build-up starting at 2.30pm from Hive Stadium on Premier Sports 2. To watch visit www.premiersports.com