Edinburgh Rugby’s hopes of reaching a second EPCR Challenge Cup final were extinguished on Saturday as Bath left Hive Stadium with a 39–24 win — a scoreline that tells only part of the story on a compelling afternoon in the Scottish capital.
In front of a record crowd at the ground, Edinburgh matched the English Premiership leaders for large spells and even led early in the second half, but the power of Bath’s pack and the influence of their bench proved decisive. All six of Bath’s tries came through their forwards, as they eventually wore down the home side in the closing minutes.
The first points nearly went Edinburgh’s way when Ross Thompson struck the post with an early penalty. Soon after, Bath capitalised when Jamie Ritchie spilled a drop-out, and the visitors worked their way upfield. A scrum penalty led to Sam Underhill crashing over for the opening try.
Will Muir was shown a yellow card for kicking the ball out of Matt Currie’s hands on the floor, and Edinburgh responded while Bath were a man down. A quick line-out released Currie down the left, and he fed Mosese Tuipulotu — an early replacement for Harry Paterson, who failed his HIA — for the levelling try. Thompson’s conversion made it 7-7.
Bath retook the lead when Tom Dunn scored the first of two nearly identical tries from powerful mauls. However, Thompson slotted a penalty to keep it tight at the break, with Edinburgh trailing 12–10.
Edinburgh flew out of the blocks after half-time. A flowing move wide saw Wes Goosen attempt to put Darcy Graham away, only for Tom de Glanville to deliberately knock on. Referee Nika Amashukeli awarded a penalty try and sent the Bath full-back to the bin, giving the home side a 17–12 lead.
Bath ramped up the pressure. Beno Obano was held up over the line after a strong carry, and then Edinburgh lost Sam Skinner to a yellow card for repeated infringements. With the extra space and growing momentum, Bath struck through Dunn again before Alfie Barbeary added another from close range.
A Finn Russell penalty extended Bath’s lead to ten, but Edinburgh responded with a superb try. Thompson ghosted through a midfield gap and timed his pass perfectly to Ali Price, who finished well to make it 29–24 with 15 minutes to play.
At that point, it remained a one-score game — and a late Edinburgh penalty might have taken the tie to extra time — but Bath’s pack had the final word. Niall Annett and then Guy Pepper crossed in the final minutes to settle the outcome and send Bath to the final in London.
Edinburgh now turn their attention back to the URC and a final push for the playoffs. While their European journey ends here, they will take encouragement from the resilience shown in patches against one of the continent’s strongest sides.
