Challenge Cup: Bath and Perpignan’s domestic travails offer Glasgow Warriors hope of progress

Despite finishing in the top eight of last season’s United Rugby Championship, Glasgow Warriors find themselves in the unaccustomed position of beginning a European campaign in the second-tier Challenge Cup and open with a trip to the Rec to play Bath on Saturday.
Cameron Redpath is likely to be in the Bath squad which takes on Glasgow in the Challenge Cup. (Photo by Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images)Cameron Redpath is likely to be in the Bath squad which takes on Glasgow in the Challenge Cup. (Photo by Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images)
Cameron Redpath is likely to be in the Bath squad which takes on Glasgow in the Challenge Cup. (Photo by Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images)

Denied a place in the Heineken Champions Cup, the Scotstoun club were victims of the URC’s shield system which tries to ensure a more equitable geographical representation in European rugby’s elite club competition. Glasgow’s loss was the Ospreys’ gain, with the Swansea-based side advancing to the Champions Cup as Welsh Shield winners even though they finished below the Warriors in the URC.

Glasgow, pipped for first place by Edinburgh in the Scottish-Italian Shield, must make do with Challenge Cup rugby where they have been drawn in Pool A and will host Perpignan six days after the Bath opener. They then play reverse fixtures against the same opponents in January in the revamped group stage. Neither opponent is showing much in the way of form, with Bath’s home loss to Harlequins on Friday night leaving them with three wins and six defeats from their nine Premiership fixtures thus far. They finished bottom of the pile last season but the suspension of relegation meant they retained their place in the top flight.

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England wing Joe Cokanasiga returned to the side against Quins and there are plenty of familiar faces in the shape of Scotland internationals Cameron Redpath, Josh Bayliss and D’Arcy Rae. Edinburgh beat them at home in last season’s Challenge Cup but Bath are a different proposition at the Rec where the backing can be large and noisy. More than 14,000 were there on Friday.

Perpignan finished second bottom of the Top 14 last season and occupied the same position ahead of yesterday’s trip to league leaders Toulouse. Among their danger men is Jerónimo de la Fuente, a try-scorer for Argentina against Scotland at Murrayfield last month.

Like its Heineken big brother, the Challenge Cup will include South African teams this season, with the Lions and the Cheetahs joining the party. The Lions were the poorest performers of the South African franchises in the URC last season, finishing 12th, while the Bloemfontein-based Cheetahs were part of the old Pro14 but not invited to join the URC.

“I think we’ve seen with the URC it’s been a success, so it was natural for those teams then to filter into the Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup," claimed Dominic McKay, the EPCR chairman.

An already convoluted format has been further complicated by the withdrawal of Wasps and Worcester, victims of financial collapse and whose futures are uncertain.

Perpignan centre Jeronimo de la Fuente scored a try for Argentina against Scotland. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)Perpignan centre Jeronimo de la Fuente scored a try for Argentina against Scotland. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)
Perpignan centre Jeronimo de la Fuente scored a try for Argentina against Scotland. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

Each team in the Challenge Cup will play four group stage fixtures and the top six from each of the two pools will advance to the last 16 where they will be joined by four teams dropping down from the Heineken Champions Cup. The competition continues in knockout format, with the final at Dublin's Aviva Stadium on May 19, the night before the Champions Cup finale at the same venue.