Bath head coach Johann van Graan has expressed frustration after three apparent high tackles on number eight Alfie Barbeary were not formally reviewed by match officials during his side's Investec Champions Cup semi-final defeat to Bordeaux Begles. The defending champions secured a 38-26 victory at Stade Atlantique to set up a final against Leinster, pulling clear in the second half of a hard-fought contest.
Missed headshots under scrutiny
Van Graan highlighted incidents in the 19th, 23rd, and 42nd minutes where Barbeary appeared to be on the receiving end of high tackles, including one from influential scrum-half Maxime Lucu. Commentating on Premier Sports, former England internationals Andy Goode and Lawrence Dallaglio questioned why pertinent replays were not made available to referee Nika Amashukeli and television match official (TMO) Ben Whitehouse.
“I thought the officials did a fantastic job, but there were three, we believe, headshots on Alfie,” said Van Graan. “All that we as coaches, players, and lovers of the game ask is that there’s consistency right through every single game. I thought Nika Amashukeli did a fantastic job, and I thought Ben Whitehouse, the TMO, did the best that he could with the angles available to him. However, for such an amazing contest, we need to make sure they’ve got the footage they need.”
Bath's European hopes dashed
Bath were aiming to reach their first European final since winning the competition in 1998 against Brive in the same city of Bordeaux. However, they fell short in a match where fly-half Finn Russell admitted to “silly mistakes” costing the team. “We’re gutted,” Russell told Premier Sports. “We went behind in the first half, got ourselves back in the second half, but we just didn’t really take our chances in that game. We gave them soft entries into our 22. There will be a lot of frustration from that game. At this level, you give soft penalties away and make silly mistakes, you get punished for it.”
Upcoming finals
Bordeaux Begles will now defend their title against Leinster in Bilbao on Saturday 23 May. The Challenge Cup final will see Ulster take on Montpellier a night earlier.
