Lifting Champions Cup as Bath skipper would be ‘huge’ for Spencer

Ben Spencer says it would be huge for him to lift the Investec Champions Cup for Bath Rugby.

Bath Rugby skipper Ben Spencer, left, and head of rugby Johann van Graan at the club’s pre-Investec Champions Cup Round 3 press conference on Tuesday 6th January | Image © Bath Rugby

But there’s a lot of rugby to play before that might happen, including this week’s match against Castres Olympique at what The Rec club’s boss Johann van Graan says will be a hostile Le Stade Pierre Fabre.

The Blue, Black & White go into their Round 3 tie at French side Castres on Friday 9th January at the top of a very tight Pool 2, having beaten Munster Rugby and lost to RC Toulon in their previous games. Only one point separates all six clubs in the mini league.

And at Bath’s pre-Round 3 press conference on Tuesday 6th January, skipper Spencer – who won the competition three times while with Saracens – said: “It’d be huge [to lift the Champions Cup for Bath].

“It’s a massive opportunity for the club [at Castres], it’s a massive opportunity for the players and we know it’s going to be tough from the start but the group [Pool 2] is showing that it’s an unbelievably tight competition.

“There’s loads of rugby left to play and we’ve just got to put our best foot forward against Castres on Friday night to make sure that we’re in a good position going into [the home game with] Edinburgh next week.

“So we’re under no illusions, the tests we’re going to face on Friday, but we’re going to be ready for it.

“I’ve not managed to play there yet in my career but one thing we do know about them is they might have a small population but they’re a huge rugby town.

“They sell out every week and we’re going to have to be right on the money on Friday night to make sure we get the result we want.

”We’re going to have to make sure we get things going.

“I know they’re a big, physical team, especially up front.

“We know there’ll be a lot of emotion like French teams usually show, in the first 20 minutes especially.

“So the start of the game is huge and hopefully we can match them physically for the first 20 and then see where we’re at and go from there.

“Bath is absolutely buzzing on gamedays and you see blue, black and white everywhere. I imagine Castres is going to be very similar in terms of there’s going to be a lot of fans in and around town on Friday. It’s going to be a great experience.

“There’s not many [Bath] lads who’ve been there and played. So it’s another French team to tick off.”

Bath will have Max Ojomoh and Tom de Glanville available for selection for the Castres clash after picking up knocks in the Gallagher PREM defeat by Northampton Saints on Saturday 27th December.

Van Graan, the Blue, Black & White’s head of rugby, said at the pre-Round 3 press conference: “Max Ojomoh is available for selection, so is Tom de Glanville. Both trained [on 6th January].

“There’s still one or two bruises from last weekend [against Exeter Chiefs in the PREM] and we’ll make our final calls on Thursday. Obviously Charlie [Ewels] is not available [due to illness].

“It was a very physical game against Exeter [on Saturday 3rd January]. So from a squad point of view, there’s one or two guys we’ll make decisions on later in the week and I wouldn’t want to comment on them at this stage.

“[Ewan Richards] won’t be around for this weekend. That ankle hasn’t responded as well as we hoped so he’s still not available.”

Unlike Spencer, van Graan does have experience of matchdays in Castres, having been in charge of Munster when they played against the team from the Occitanie region of southern France.

He said: “We’e going to the south of France and we’ve enjoyed this competition. The only things we can control are our preparation and ultimately our performance on Friday evening. I’m really looking forward to it.

“It’s an extremely difficult place to get to from a travel perspective, but a lovely rugby town. Small ground, [capacity] just over 12,000.

“I was there twice in the winter [in previous years]. Good welcome, friendly people. Once you go between the four white lines, it’s not that friendly, it’s hostile. And that’s brilliant.

“They stay in the fight, extremely proud team. If you look at their home records, all their home games are extremely tight.

“Good little town centre, one or two coffee shops, so good rugby experience.”

Taking Bath to glory in this season’s Champions Cup final would surely end up being van Graan’s European highlight. But he currently rates last term’s Challenge Cup final, when the Blue, Black & White beat French team Lyon at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff to win the competition, his best European memory.

He said: “At Munster [my highlight] was the [Champions Cup] quarter-final in 2018. It was Toulon at Thomond Park, Andrew Conway’s try, Ian Keatley’s conversion, score 20-19, we defended and we got through to the semi-final.

“At Bath, from a home point of view, [my] second season that win against Racing [92] and then last season it has to be the [Challenge Cup] final in Cardiff, an incredibly special night for everyone at the club.

“If you ask me one moment, definitely the final last year in Cardiff.”

The Challenge Cup triumph was also massive for Spencer.

He said: “The first one to win is always special. Winning that [the Champions Cup in 2016] with Sarries was amazing but the way the penny fell last year in terms of us not getting through in the Champions Cup and then watching that Bristol game and Claremont [Auvergne] scoring in the last play of the game to push us into the Challenge Cup…

“Just the way that fate happened there was special, and lifting Bath’s first major trophy in 27 years was amazing. To see the joy that it brought to the city was brilliant.”