Finn Russell leads Bath to European glory as Scottish referee at centre of controversy

It’s ten years since the Scotland stand-off lifted a club honour and that was the Guinness Pro12 with Glasgow Warriors. For Bath, you have to go back to 2008.

Like Spurs, they’ve had to wait 17 years to get their hands on major silverware. Then, as now, it was the Challenge Cup and Bath were delighted to reacquaint themselves with the trophy after defeating Lyon 37-12 in the final at the Principality Stadium.

Cardiff was blue, black and white for the evening and Russell lapped up the acclaim, cementing his love affair with the Bath faithful. The fly-half is the perfect fit for Johann van Graan’s side whose dominant pack gives him the space to run the game. He did that all night long, kicking well, controlling and converting the four tries scored by Tom Dunn, Max Ojomoh, Beno Obano and Ben Spencer. He also added three penalties for a personal haul of 17 points and was 100 per cent off the tee.

After suffering disappointment in the Premiership final with Bath last season and ending up on the losing side with Racing 92 against Exeter in the Champions Cup final five years ago, this was a victory to be savoured for Russell and there could be more to come. Bath have a home semi coming up in this season’s Premiership play-offs and few would bet against them driving home their dominance by completing an extraordinary treble, having already claimed the Premiership Cup with their second string.

These are heady days for Russell and Bath although Friday’s victory was not without controversy. Hollie Davidson, the other Scot on the field, was making history by becoming the first female referee to take charge of a European final but her decision to not send off Sam Underhill for a high tackle on Lyon’s Davit Niniashvili in the first half looked lenient to say the least.

Underhill got away with a yellow card and team-mate Will Muir was sent to the sin-bin a few minutes later but Bath regrouped and pushed home their dominance in the second half.

It was Lyon who started the brightest. It took them only three minutes to score the first try, Dumortier finding space down the blindside after a long lineout caught Bath cold. Berdeu couldn't convert but the underdogs were 5-0 up.

Russell then stepped up, unleashing a mighty 50:22 to Bath in the Lyon 22 for the first time in the match. They ramped up the pressure and were awarded a penalty in front of the posts when Mickael Guillard didn’t roll away. Russell played it safe, for once, kicking the easy three points.

Bath now had the upper hand and two tries in a five-minute period at the mid-point of the half underlined their dominance. Dunn got the first. The hooker, and hammer of Edinburgh in the semi-finals, took a tap penalty and barged over with the help of Charlie Ewels. Ojomoh quickly followed up with the second try, taking a pass from Spencer and pirouetting his way to the line. Russell converted both to put Bath 17-5 to the good.

Then came the yellow cards. Underhill’s head-on-head on Lyon full-back Davit Niniashvili made for painful viewing on the big screen slo-mo but Davidson felt yellow would suffice. The Scot had sent off the Bath flanker in the round of 16 clash with Pau and this looked as if it also warranted red but Underhill returned after 10 minutes and also passed a head injury assessment.

Muir, the Bath wing, joined his team-mate in the sin-bin after taking out Dumortier in the air and this one was more clearcut. It was now 13 v 15 but Bath somehow clung on and Underhill returned for the final minute of the half to help with a huge defensive effort.

Bath preserved their 17-5 lead and went further ahead with Russell’s second penalty early in the second half. Lyon were now trailing by three scores and needed a way back. They turned to their big men and Arno Botha delivered. The South African No 8 powered over and Berdeu converted to reduce Bath’s advantage to 20-12.

Bath looked to their bench and the arrival of Thomas du Toit, Guy Pepper and Alfie Barbeary brought immediate rewards. Barbeary and du Toit were both involved in their third try, helping Obano power over. Spencer, the man of the match, then got in on the act, scoring Bath’s fourth try after a searing break by Tom de Glanville. Russell converted both and even had an ambitious drop goal attempt in between the tries.

It fell well short but it was the only blemish on a glory night for the Scotland hero.