Heineken Cup: Bath sink to bottom of pool after Montpellier break duck

Bath’s disappointing Heineken Cup campaign continued yesterday as they slumped to their fourth defeat in five matches at the hands of Montpellier in Pool 3.

Bath looked set for victory as two tries from second-row forward Ryan Caldwell put them 22-17 ahead going into the final minute, but Montpellier snatched their first win in the competition when Timoci Nagusa went over and Martin Bustos Moyano converted for a 24-22 win. The result leaves Bath bottom on seven points, with Montpellier moving into second spot, level on ten points with Glasgow, but having played a game extra.

Northampton produced a second-half fightback to end the Scarlets’ quarter-final hopes in a Pool 1 thriller at Parc y Scarlets. The Welsh side had the better of the first half as a try from wing Vili Iongi plus nine points from stand-off Rhys Priestland helped them to a 14-6 interval lead. But second-half tries from Soane Tonga’uiha and Ben Foden, supplemented by Stephen Myler’s 17-point haul, saw Saints secure the win 29-17.

Munster were far from convincing as a two-try victory over Castres at Thomond Park confirmed them as the first qualifiers for the quarter-finals. Johne Murphy’s eighth-minute try set the Pool 1 leaders on their way to a 16-7 half-time lead and a final score of 26-10, with Yannick Caballero hitting back for the French outfit.

Clermont ran in 12 tries to thrash Italian whipping boys Aironi 82-0 in their Pool 4 match at Stadio Brianteo, while Toulouse consolidated their place at the top of Pool 6 with a 24-3 win over Connacht at Stade Ernest Wallon. In the same pool, Harlequins took a giant step towards the quarter-finals with a 20-14 win over Gloucester. Quins, who trailed 11-10 at the interval, conjured up one last opportunity which Mike Brown snapped up.