Bath Rugby face 11-point underdog tag against Bordeaux
bath rugby go into Sunday’s Champions Cup semi-final as 11-point underdogs against Bordeaux at Stade Atlantique. The holders have won 14 straight matches in the competition, but Bath arrive with enough firepower to keep the scoring tempo high.
The match starts at 3pm on Sunday, May 3, and it will be shown live on Premier Sports 1. Bordeaux carry the sharper form line after beating Toulouse 30-15 in the quarter-finals, while Bath needed a 43-41 escape against Northampton after trailing 35-14.
Arundell and Bordeaux pace
Henry Arundell is one of Bath’s main attacking threats, and he goes into a contest built around pace on both sides. Bordeaux’s backline trio of Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Damien Penaud and Arundell points to a semi-final that should be played at speed rather than slowed down by caution.
That attacking profile fits the numbers already posted by both teams this season. Bordeaux scored 94 tries across their 14 Champions Cup matches in this run, while Bath put 180 points on the board in the pool stage and Bordeaux added 173.
Bordeaux’s home pressure
Bordeaux also arrive with a powerful home record in Europe. Eleven of their 14 Champions Cup matches this season passed the 50-point mark, and their only defeat in the competition since then was the 42-41 loss to Harlequins in the 2024 quarter-finals.
Their quarter-final win over Toulouse stretched their Champions Cup winning streak to 14 matches, the longest run in the competition among the teams left in the bracket. That leaves Bath trying to break a trend that has made Bordeaux hard to contain, especially when the game opens up early.
Obano and Bath’s route
Beno Obano gives Bath another route into the semi-final. The prop crossed for a try in three of Bath’s four pool matches and is quoted at 4-1 to score again, which adds a direct threat around the edge of the Bordeaux defense.
Bath also carry a different kind of pressure into France. They were the previous season’s Challenge Cup winners, but the step up now is against the Champions Cup holders, and the line that has opened around the match reflects that gap. For Bath, the task is to turn pace and scoring power into a result against a side that has made 94 tries in this competition and rarely leaves games on a tight leash.
Fans watching live will see a semi-final shaped by two free-scoring teams and a market that has Bordeaux ahead by 11. If Bath are going to change that script, Arundell and Obano have to give them early points at Stade Atlantique.
