Bordeaux Bègles 38-26 Bath: Champions Cup semi-final – as it happened
Robert Kitson’s report has landed:Thanks for reading, congratulations to Bordeaux, commiserations to Bath.Bring on the final.“So proud of these lads,” says the Bath scrum-half Spencer.“How far we’ve come since Johann came.“I thought we put up a real good fight.
There were a few key moments that went their way.But ultimately it was a step too far.“At half time there was still huge belief.We thought we could get on top of them … We let them out and they went down the other end and scored.It’s tough to come back against them when you’re up against it.
Credit to Bordeaux, but hugely proud of the lads.“It’s obviously a great experience for these young guys … we’ll take the learnings out of this game, still loads to play for in the Prem.Regather back on Wednesday and look forward to the rest of the season.“They’re a great side – but I’m hugely proud of our group.”“Appreciate you, Martin,” says Obano to Bayfield at the end of that excellent, honest interview.
Bet you he watches the NFL.“It’s a sad feeling … but there were opportunities we didn’t take,” says Beno Obano of Bath.“I don’t know if we can take solace in that, but it’s kind of on us.We can get better.It’s a matter of taking those moments.
We didn’t take them today.We have to look at ourselves.There’s a lot we can do better, if I am honest.“We are close.We believe in each other.
We trust in each other.It’s a matter of being honest with ourselves … and making sure we don’t make those same mistakes in big games.“They attack really well.They move the ball really well.If you get caught too narrow they exploit it … that’s what they did exceptionally well … you can’t make mistakes in these big games.
You can’t make errors.Good teams like that exploit that.“We didn’t really feel pressure.We wanted to be the best version of ourselves, and we were at times … but the times we weren’t, we were punished.”“It’s incredible,” says try-scoring prop Ben Tameifuna.
“We’ve had a great season in the Champions Cup.We are just fortunate to have the game here in our back yard.The crowd was amazing, big up to them.“Conditions weren’t the best today.It was about keeping the ball and building phases and apply pressure.
We just happened to get the bounce of that, and a few calls our way.“We’re not done yet.We’ve got another big game to come.“They’ve got class players.They didn’t give up.
They still wanted to have a crack.Credit to them and best of luck for the rest of their season …“Leinster are a top side.Just like Bath.It’s going to be a good one … It’s going to be who can hold the ball the longest and build pressure.”“We are gutted,” says Finn Russell.
“We went behind, fought ourselves back in the second half, and didn’t take our chances and gave them soft entries into our 22 … at this level, you give soft penalties away and make silly mistakes, you get punished.“We’ll be better for this … there is a lot of frustration and disappointment … but when we come back in tomorrow we’ll look at it, and how we get ready for Exeter next weekend.”And perhaps it’s a little harsh to say Bath over-committed in defence – the problem with playing Bordeaux is that they have so many powerful carriers and their handling is so sharp, you need a lot of manpower to stop them, which in turn can leave you short out wide.“You have to get the little bits and pieces right,” says Lawrence Dallaglio on commentary for Premier Sports.“The further up the tree you go, you have to do the simple things over and over again, correctly.
Bordeaux were better than that at Bath today and that’s why they won.”C’est comme ça.A chip-chase by Arundell on the Bath left culminates in a try for the replacement Tom Carr-Smith.But Bordeaux had switched off, to all intents and purposes.Arundell needed to be making that kind of impact when the pressure was on.
Extras are added.80 min: Time up.Lucu orchestrates the celebrations.Bath have the ball and Russell finds Lawrence.Bath are just looking for a consolation.
79 min: Bordeaux come again.The fans want more.But a forward pass that’s also at someone’s boots brings their latest attack to an end.Bath are ragged and when Jalibert loops a handsome pass to the left wing, it’s the replacement back-row Temo Matiu who eventually charges over.Les jeux sont faits.
77 min: The home fans are in full voice.Their heroes have the ball.They attack down the right wing … and there is the finisher!76 min: Lucu gets player of the match.Have Bath been hard done by with the officiating? Maybe, but they’ve also made some basic errors and over-committed themselves in defence at times, making it all too easy for UBB to pick them off.75 min: Charge down by Moefana! Inside the Bath 22! It looks like he’s in for the try but the ball escapes him.
Then Bordeaux are penalised for playing the No 9.74 min: Billy Sela is on for Bath.Arundell claims a high kick and does well to cling on and get the ball to a teammate …72 min: That fluffed lineout by Ewels feels like it was a turning point.And now he’s in the bin.Bath have the ball and try to shove a maul towards the try-line.
Du Toit is involved.Then Lawrence.UBB continue to throw themselves into contact with abandon.And now they get a penalty.Big man.
Big try.Big all round from the tap penalty.Bordeaux finally get their try, from the enormous prop who always seems to make a devastating impact.Two more points added by Lucu with the conversion.Is the game gone? It looks gone.
But stranger things have happened …No try, but Amashukeli thinks Ewels has been a naughty boy in dragging down the driving maul that had looked sure to make it over the line.And he’s off to the sin-bin.68 min: I think this is a knock-on.There is a lengthy check, and the TMO doesn’t sound sure …“Give me two seconds,” says Ben Whitehouse.The crowd wails.
They want a try.But no! It’s no try!Woki nabs a lineout and then it’s a fearsomely powerful shove from the French club’s pack.It’s dragged down but the referee plays advantage and the replacement Gaetan Barlot is over for the score.Or is he? The TMO will check the grounding …66 min: Now a platform for Bordeaux with a lineout.Woki nearly powers past the cover on the right touchline.
He offloads inside and Ewels eventually gets the ball and is driven into touch.Looks like Muir is injured, he’s holding his arm, say the commentators.It was a very heavy blow he took in taking Woki down.Tom de Glanville is on for Bath.64 min: Ewels spills the lineout from Tuipulotu’s throw! UBB snaffle the bouncing ball! That is a terrible waste of a massive attacking platform.
Retiere is first to the loose ball and Bordeaux are delighted to be off the hook.63 min: Arthur Retiere is also on for Bordeaux, immediately getting involved in a break down their right wing.The ball is worked nearly under the Bath posts due to another run by Jalibert.Bath get a penalty, Spencer grabs the ball and hammers it downfield.Rayasi scuffs it into touch under pressure from Muir in the UBB 22! Huge territory gain for Bath!62 min: A very handy maul turnover for Bath, by Josh Bayliss.
This is good stuff.Now a scrum for Bordeaux on halfway.60 min: Given the strength of their bench, would Bath have taken a five-point game after an hour? I fancy they would.They can win this, but they need to keep it clean in the referee’s eyes and defend more efficiently than they have so far.57 min: Bath turn it over under lots of pressure near their own line.
The ball is booted downfield, and Arundell and Bielle-Biarrey, momentarily, are in a foot race with no one at home for Bordeaux in the back field.But sadly the ball squirts out into touch and a ceasefire is declared between the two fast men.56 min: So new back rowers for Bath.Jalibert sprints through a gaping hole.He’s tackled but then it’s brought back for a penalty, I think from the newly-introduced Reid, for in at the side
UN warns women in public life face increasingly sophisticated online violence
Women in public life are facing growing and increasingly sophisticated forms of online violence, the UN has said, warning that “AI-assisted ‘virtual rape’ is now at the fingertips of perpetrators”.Female rights campaigners, journalists and other public communicators face a deepening threat owing to a combination of artificial intelligence, anonymity and the absence of effective laws and accountability, a report published by UN Women found.Of more than 600 women in public life, 6% said they had been victims of deepfakes, while nearly a third said they had received unsolicited sexual advances online. About 12% said they had had images of themselves shared without their consent, including intimate or sexual content.“Artificial intelligence is making abuse easier and more damaging,” said Kalliopi Mingeirou, who leads UN Women’s efforts to end violence against women
Woman’s fight for sterilisation raises questions over access to procedure
A psychologist who was denied sterilisation on the NHS has successfully challenged the decision after taking her case to the health ombudsman, raising questions over how accessible the procedure should be.Leah Spasova spent years seeking an operation to prevent pregnancy by blocking the fallopian tubes. Many argue that barriers faced by women, from funding refusals to stricter eligibility criteria, amount to unequal treatment compared with men seeking vasectomies, and limit bodily autonomy.However, others say tighter controls reflect legitimate medical concerns, including the procedure’s relative risk, its permanence, and evidence that some patients later regret the decision.In 2024-25, 10,793 female sterilisations were carried out, down 22% on a decade ago, while there were 26,385 vasectomies, up 16% year on year
Woman denied permanent birth control on NHS wins case with ombudsman
A woman denied a permanent form of birth control on the NHS over fears she might regret it, while men were allowed contraceptive procedures, has won her case with the health ombudsman.Leah Spasova, a psychologist from Oxfordshire, spent a decade fighting to obtain female sterilisation at her local trust, a procedure that blocks or seals the fallopian tubes to prevent pregnancy. By contrast, men can undergo a vasectomy, a procedure that stops sperm from being released.She was refused the sterilisation procedure on the NHS, with her local trust citing concerns about potential regret and cost-effectiveness. Spasova challenged the decision, taking her complaint to the parliamentary and health service ombudsman, who hears complaints about the NHS in England
‘I am invoking Martha’s rule’: how a woman saved her father from near death in hospital
For six awful days last summer, as her father, David, got progressively sicker in the cardiac ward of the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford, Karen Osenton would read the poster above his bed telling patients about their right under Martha’s rule to ask for a second opinion.Her father, a retired engineer in his early 70s who was normally extremely fit, was by then thin, jaundiced and could barely lift his head from the pillow. But his bed was right beside the nurses’ station, surely they would notice if he needed more urgent treatment?David had first gone to his GP more than a month earlier complaining of extreme breathlessness, and over the following weeks he had become increasingly thin and weak with suspected heart failure. But it had taken repeated visits to the accident and emergency ward, being sent home each time, before he was finally given a bed in a specialist cardiac unit last July.“Every day we saw him he got worse,” says Karen, a teacher from Aynho, in West Northamptonshire
Martha’s rule may have saved more than 500 lives in England since 2024
More than 500 people have received potentially life-saving care thanks to Martha’s rule, which gives hospital patients the right to seek a second opinion about their health.They were moved to intensive care or a specialist unit after they, a loved one or a member of NHS staff triggered the patient safety mechanism, which the NHS in England began using in 2024.Martha’s rule lets patients, relatives and staff call a helpline run by the hospital if they are worried about the person’s condition or treatment and ask for a “rapid review” of their care.In the 18 months between September 2024 and February 2026, a total of 524 adults and children about whom concerns had been raised were moved to an intensive care or high-dependency unit, a specialist hospital or a specialist ward at the hospital where they were already an inpatient.Wes Streeting, the health secretary, said the figures proved that Martha’s rule is “already having a life-saving impact”
Solicitors report late flood of no-fault evictions before ban in England
Solicitors say they have been inundated with requests to serve last-minute section 21 no-fault eviction notices before they are banned when the Renters’ Rights Act comes into force in England on Friday.The legislation, which has been hailed as the biggest change to renting in a generation, bans no-fault evictions, limits rent increases and abolishes fixed-term tenancies.On the eve of the new rules, solicitors said they were working long hours to keep up with the sudden demand for eviction notices, while Citizens Advice said thousands of people facing a no-fault eviction had approached it for help in the last month.In March, the service helped 2,335 people dealing with a no-fault eviction, up 16% on the same time last year, as well as more than 1,800 people dealing with disrepair such as damp and mould, and more than 1,000 with rent increases.Thackray Williams, a London- and Kent-based law firm, said it had received a wave of last-minute instructions from landlords looking to evict their tenants and sell their properties because of the legislation
Why we care so much about preserving family recipes
When it comes to wines, it pays to look beyond the fashionable
Rachel Roddy’s recipe for spaghetti with crab, chilli, herbs and lemon | A kitchen in Rome
How to turn old pitta into spiced chips – recipe | Waste not
Why sweet, chewy dates go perfectly with chocolate – and the best ones to try
The perfect birthday cake: tips for the best blow-out