Bath Rugby keep their Champions Cup hopes alive thanks to securing all five points at the Recreation Ground on Sunday night, beating ASM Clermont Auvergne 40-21.

In what was a must-win game to reach the knockout stages of Europe, the Blue, Black and White started the first half in superb fashion, with Tom de Glanville scoring after just two minutes thanks to a sublime break from Max Ojomoh. Finn Russell then added a second try to make it 14-0, and Joe Cokanasiga added a third in the first 40 for Bath, with Russell also perfect off the tee. However, the away side fought hard to stay in the game, even with loosehead prop Giorgi Akhaldze red carded after 25 minutes, with some beautiful fast-flowing rugby in Bath's 22-metre line allowing hooker Folou Fainga'a and fly-half Anthony Belleau to score, with Belleau going two from two with his conversions to keep the French side in the game at 21-14 at half time.

In the second half, Bath made the most of the man advantage and pulled clear of the French side despite their resolute performance and dogged fight. Two second-half tries from tighthead prop Thomas du Toit, along with an Ollie Lawrence score meant the Blue, Black and White sealed the bonus point with six tries to their name, with Russell missing just one conversion kick in the second half. Clermont were able to score their second-half points through a Peceli Yato try and another Belleau conversion, but that was all they could muster in attack, wasting a couple of chances down in the 22.

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Rugby writer Olly D'Arcy takes a closer look at the individual performances of the Bath players...

15 Tom de Glanville - 7

The full-back profited off the brilliant Ojomoh carry to get Bath's first points of the evening, bursting through a slow-starting defence from the French side as the ball was recycled quickly and spread out to the right. His work under the high ball was near-perfect as ever, and he controlled both the attack and defence of the backs really well throughout the game. Another quality performance from the full-back.

14 Joe Cokanasiga - 6

Great awareness and support line running meant he was on the shoulder of Lawrence, with the centre then feeding him and setting him through after his brilliant take of Russell's up-and-under kick over the Clermont defence. However, to start the second half, he was unable to field in a bouncing loose ball as he chased it down, bobbling it up to Clermont and setting them free to score through fly-half Belleau. However, an offside penalty on the French side from an earlier tackle spared the winger's blushes. His hands didn't warm up after that near miss, dropping a couple of easy passes to turn possession over needlessly. He got himself on the score sheet, but some sloppy bitts of play meant it was a bit of a disappointing showing.

13 Ollie Lawrence - 8

In what could be a huge couple of months for the centre with the Six Nations upcoming, Lawrence showed his brilliance once again. After Ojomoh's earlier break to make De Glanville's opening try, Lawrence himself had a superb break, down the left wing, causing problems for the Clermont defence in the early stages. He then gathered Russell's up-and-under kick with brilliant skill, feeding a supporting Cokanasiga on his right to send the winger away and under the post for try number three. Like Du Toit, you can't keep the outside centre off the scoresheet, and after 71 minutes, he bundled his way over in the left-hand corner to seal Bath's victory, and underline yet another super performance with England coach Steve Borthwick in the stands.

12 Max Ojomoh - 9

The inside centre brought the intensity to the Blue, Black and White side just two minutes in, slicing through the defence of the French side with ease as the first receiver. He took the ball from the halfway line to inside the 22-metre line, and after it was quickly recycled, De Glanville raced through a splintered Clermont defence. He was also on the receiving end of a dangerous tackle from Clermont's Giorgi Akhaladze, with the loosehead prop seeing a, maybe harsh, straight red for a high tackle as his arm collided with Ojomoh's head. In defence, there was also some quality work, with some huge hits coming in to stop Clermont behind the gain line. As the game continued, he carried on busying himself with the ball in hand and making some great metres, as well as defending stoutly when required. In what was quite a flat game at times, Ojomoh brought great intensity and super work to the pitch with what was a brilliant overall performance and should put him in the mix for an England call-up.

11 Ruaridh McConnochie - 6

Coming in for the injured Will Muir, there were a couple of ball-in-hand moments for the winger where he made a few metres past the gain line. However, especially in the second 40, there was little to no action on the left-hand wing for the former England international, keeping him quiet until he came off for Orlando Bailey.

10 Finn Russell -8

Bath have had some struggles with slow starts through the 2024/25 season, but Russell took command at fly-half right out of the gate, with a lovely flat pass sending Ojomoh through, leading to Bath's first score. The Scottish international then got his name in the try-scoring column himself, cashing in on the penalty advantage and the numbers out wide to dummy the pass, move inside and crash over from just over two metres out. His sublime creativity and ingenuity showed itself once again, weighting his up-and-under kick beautifully so Lawrence could gather it on the full and then set Cokanasiga away. As Bath slowly turned the screw in the second half, Russell's game management was on show, with his poise and decision-making almost perfect to steer Bath to their vital win.

9 Ben Spencer - 8

The poise and control that we are accustomed to seeing from the scrum-half was there again for all to see. A brilliant kick into space that only Spencer saw moved Bath from the halfway line, all the way to Clermont's five-metre line, giving his side an attacking lineout. His speed at the back of the breakdown was great in the first half too, allowing the backs to catch out a retreating and splintered Clermont defence multiple times. It wasn't pretty at times from the Bath attack, and it was quite flat in the middle part of the second half, but again, control and poise from the captain was vital.

1 Beno Obano - 7

The first highlight of the game for the loosehead prop was a superb tackle in midfield, stopping the French side in their tracks as he drove them back a good few metres. Didn't see much of the ball in hand, but the work he and the rest of the front row did in the scrums was hugely impressive, with the French side unable to live with the scrum dominance from the Blue, Black and White. It was another solid performance where Obano did his job to great effect before he came off just before 60 minutes played.

2 Tom Dunn - 6

A theme, and a pretty worrying one at that, is the misfiring lineout that Bath have in the early stages of games. A couple of lineouts went askew, giving possession away carelessly. However, some cracking work in defence came from the hooker, brilliantly poaching the ball in between Bath's 10 and 22-metre line to turn defence into attack. The lineout sorted itself out as the game went on, but there was not a lot of action for the Bath stalwart before he was replaced by Niall Annett.

3 Thomas du Doit - 9

The South African has arguably been Bath's Player of the Season so far at the Rec having won that award last year as well, but his first 40 was probably his most quiet in a Bath shirt. There were not too many scrums for the tighthead prop in the first half, but the warning signs were there for Clermont, getting away with one after Du Toit put on a mammoth push. But like it has been all season, you can't keep this many quiet. He got Bath's vital fourth try and sealed the bonus point just ten minutes into the second half, crashing over from just two metres out with a vicious carry under the posts. He then had a carbon copy of his first try as he got his name on the scoresheet once again, with the Clermont defence unable to stop the South African from close range, an almost impossible task. His second try was his final act of yet another stunning performance.

4 Quinn Roux - 6

The work in the engine room from the Irish international was not as effective as it has been so far this season. Clermont's breakdown and attack speed caught Bath out in defence, allowing them to score two well-worked first-half tries. He was a part of the lineout that was slow to get going but worked to good effect as the game went on, as well as slowing down Clermont in attack in the second 40.

5 Charlie Ewels - 6

Ewels was a part of the dysfunctional lineout to start the game, and alongside Roux, he was unable to slow the Clermont attack down as they scored pretty easily when getting into Bath's 22. They stifled the French side in the second half with much more resolute defence, but there was very little of Ewels throughout the 80.

6 Ted Hill - 6

In a game where England coach Steve Borthwick was present at the Rec to see who he would be selecting for the upcoming Six Nations, it was a pretty quiet first half from the flanker as he returned from injury. He had a couple of nice carries to get over the gain line, but he was kept in check by Clermont for the first 40. He didn't have the ball in hand as much as he would have liked, but when he did, he put in a cracking hit to sit a Clermont defender down. However, there were also some drops around the lineout from Hill, giving him one of his poorer performances in a Blue, Black and white jersey.

7 Miles Reid - 7

As he has been throughout what has been a fine season so far for the flanker, Reid was involved in some great work, both in attack and defence. He ran a super support line on the shoulder of Ojomoh to help recycle the ball quickly to give De Glanville his try. He tried to be his usual self at the breakdown, but he could not be as effective as usual as Clermont had some great speed in attack. The second half was more of the same, with some good breakdown work slowing down Clermont and making them much less effective in the second half. It was another great performance from the flanker, putting together arguably his best season in a Bath shirt.

8 Alfie Barbeary - 6

Very few moments for Barbeary in the first 40, with the number 8 not seeing any of the ball in hand to really stamp his authority on the game. In defence, he had a brilliant tackle to slow down the French side, but that was all in the first half. There was a little more action in the second half as he had a couple of moments getting past the gainline, but again, it was another quiet game this season after his stunning 2023/24 season.

Replacements

16 Niall Annett - 6

17 Francois van Wyk - 7

18 Will Stuart - 6

19 Ross Molony - 6

20 Josh Bayliss - 7

21 Louis Schreuder - 6

22 Orlando Bailey - 6

23 Ethan Staddon - N/A