The University of Bath men’s 1st XV demonstrated why they have been the best team in BUCS Super Rugby this season as they defeated Loughborough 41-14 in the BSR Milk Championship final to complete a historic league and cup double. Image: Co-captain Max Pearce and Head of Rugby Aaron James lift the trophy, credit: BUCS
Forward dominance allied with explosive pace and power from the backs saw Bath score five tries against their old rivals and secure their first-ever national cup success, just a month after they had won the BUCS Super Rugby title for a first time.
It means they are only the second team during BUCS Super Rugby’s 10-year history to complete the league and cup double, and they are the first to finish the season with three trophies having also successfully defended the BSR Challenge Shield seven times on home turf.
Aaron James, who has been the University’s Head of Rugby throughout the BUCS Super Rugby era, said: “I’m a bit emotional, we got there. The players were outstanding and the effort from the whole club was outstanding.
“This has been a build-up over a number of years and hundreds of people have been involved in this across the club, the University, our sponsors and partners. Thank you to everyone who has contributed, I am so proud.
“It comes back to environment and culture. What we have built on and off the pitch is really special. We’ve got a performance squad of 70 and only 23 of them have got to run out in the final but they have all been part of it.
“It will be an emotional goodbye to the players graduating but they are leaving with trophies and medals. They have been amazing. We’re going to enjoy the next couple of days but on Monday we go again and we’ll try to do this again. We want to build on this momentum and keep developing the next group of special players.”
One of the players leaving on a high is flanker Iwan Coyle, who began his University career in the 5ths but has progressed through the ranks to become a BUCS Super Rugby regular and scored a try during a player-of-the-match performance in Wednesday’s final at Rodney Parade in Newport.
“It was a tough game and we knew it would be,” he said. “We knew Loughborough would come at us in the first 40 minutes so we had to stick at it and the replacements had a big impact when they came on. The belief and the want to win was the difference. We’ve won 14 on the bounce now and we have that belief in each other.”
Coyle also praised the travelling supporters, saying: “We have the best fans in the league by a mile. We had a big support at Stanley Park, Loughborough at home, the Anniversary Game at The Rec. That support is brilliant, it drives us on.”
Just two points had separated Bath – sponsored by Bath Building Society and Rengen – from runners-up Loughborough in the league table, so a close contest was anticipated and the teams were locked at 7-7 at half-time.
Tyler Offiah had sliced through the Loughborough defence to give Bath a 10th minute lead, Will Roue adding the extras, before Tom Rowe replied on the stroke of half-time and Ben Taylor’s conversion levelled the scores.
Bath had dominated the physical exchanges, though, and that unrelenting pressure told in the second half as they pulled clear. They needed just three minutes to restore their lead, centre Luc Anfield forcing his way over, and Roue – who had a 100 per cent success rate from the tee – added the conversion before extending the gap with a penalty soon after.
If Offiah had shown his blistering pace for his first try, he demonstrated his strength and power for his second – and Bath’s third – as he bounced off two attempted tackles to touch down.
Loughborough’s resistance was breached once again when player of the match Coyle barged over for a well-deserved try. Roue, who had kicked both conversions, then added another penalty to put Bath out of sight.
Theo Mayell pulled a try back but Bath fittingly had the final word when, from the last move of the game, an incisive break from Austin Emens sparked a flowing backs move that ended with Harry Walker gleefully touching down in the corner. Roue’s conversion was followed by the final whistle and the celebrations could begin in earnest both on and off the pitch.
Find out more about the successful student rugby programme at the University of Bath by visiting rugby.teambath.com