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