Edinburgh Rugby left in Champions Cup sweat after battering in Bath as team selection backfires

They sent an understrength team south and paid the price, conceding nine tries to the English champions who ran amok in the second half.

Edinburgh must now wait for the outcome of the remaining two Pool 2 matches on Saturday to learn their fate.

Sean Everitt’s side end the pool phase on 10 points, six behind Bath who cannot be caught at the summit.

The top four from each of the four Champions Cup pools qualify for the round of 16 and Edinburgh - currently second - could still be caught by any of the four teams below them; Toulon (nine points), Munster (six), Gloucester (six) and Castres (five).

The Saturday fixtures see Munster take on Castres in Limerick and Gloucester host Toulon. A number of different scenarios remain possible but, put simply, if Toulon win at Kingsholm then Edinburgh will be guaranteed a place in the top four and knockout rugby in the top tier competition.

Would they deserve it? Not on this showing but they did record two good home wins over Toulon and Gloucester earlier in the competition. The flipside has been Everitt’s decision to rest key players for the away fixtures, with Edinburgh losing heavily in France to Castres before Friday night’s crushing loss.

European rugby will continue regardless

Regardless of results, they cannot finish lower than fifth in Pool 2 so would at least have the consolation of dropping into the last 16 of the Challenge Cup should they miss out on the top four.

Magnus Bradbury, their captain, Pierre Schoeman, Wes Goosen and Liam McConnell all sat out the game against Bath, with Everitt stressing the need to manage his squad.

It was a similar scenario against Castres last month, a game Edinburgh ended up losing 33-0. The outcome on Friday was even more severe as Bath pummelled them. This is Edinburgh’s first time in the Champions Cup in three years and if they are eliminated at the pool stage it will be hard to escape the feeling that the selection policy was deeply flawed.

The only real bright spot was another fine performance by Freddy Douglas, in front of the watching Gregor Townsend. The Scotland coach will name his Six Nations squad on Tuesday.

When the teams met in the Challenge Cup semi-finals at the Hive last season all six of Bath’s tries were scored by their forwards. The big men dominated again at the Rec and the first half was all about the front-rowers.

Each claimed a try in the opening 40 and there was also a penalty try won via a dominant scrum. The trio of Beno Obano, Tom Dunn and Thomas du Toit were certainly earning their corn and their exploits meant the bonus point was in the bag by half-time.

Edinburgh simply had no answer to the hosts’ power from close range, although they did score a fine first-half try through Piers O’Conor after great work by Harry Paterson and Ben Vellacott.

They also took the lead, Ross Thompson slotting an early penalty. Bath responded with 21 unanswered points.

The first try came from du Toit after a tap penalty by Dunn had Edinburgh on the backfoot. The prop piled over and Finn Russell added the conversion. The visitors almost conceded a second score soon after as O’Conor threw a reckless pass back to Paterson. Malelili Satala, making his Edinburgh debut, was alert enough to deal with the danger but had to concede a five-metre scrum and the Bath pack pulverised the Scots at the set-piece. Alifie Barbeary touched down but referee Gianluca Gnecchi had already decided it was a penalty try, sparing Russell the need to have another pop at goal.

Those two tries came within three minutes of each other and took some of the stuffing out of the visitors. There was a further setback when hooker Ewan Ashman departed injured, a concern for Scotland as the Six Nations looms. Harri Morris took his place.

Edinburgh’s try was a good one

Bath extended their lead in the 31st minute when Obano forced his way over from a metre out and Russell’s conversion made it 21-3.

Just as the game threatened to run away from Edinburgh they conjured up a superb try. Paterson, a lively presence in his first game since the win over Toulon, made a break and had the awareness to find Vellacott. The little scrum-half was even more impressive, playing in the supporting O'Conor with a reverse pass for the centre to score. Thompson converted.

Edinburgh’s buoyancy didn’t last long, with Dunn scoring Bath’s fourth try from close range as the clock ticked past the 40-minute mark. Russell added the extras to make it 28-10 at the turn.

Bath’s backs got in on the act in the second half, scoring all five of their side’s tries. Two inside three minutes at the mid-point sealed the game. The first came when Max Ojomoh fizzed a pass out to Joe Cokanasiga and the Fiji-born winger surged past Charlie Shiel, Thompson, Satala and O’Conor to score. Captain Ben Spencer got the next one after a slick Bath move involving Barbeary, Ojomoh and Cokanasiga. Russell converted both and at 42-10 it was all about damage limitation for Edinburgh.

It didn’t work for the visitors and further tries from Henry Arundell, Cokanasiga and Max Ojomoh, all converted by Russell, made it a record total of points for Bath in the Champions Cup and left Edinburgh with much to ponder