Toulon Beats Bath 45-34 in Champions Cup Pool 2

Toulon secured a hard-fought 45-34 victory over Bath in Pool 2 of the Investec Champions Cup on Sunday at Stade Mayol, maintaining a tight race atop the group after both teams recorded a win and a loss from their opening two matches. Bath earned a bonus point for scoring four tries but finished second with six points, one ahead of Toulon and the other sides on five.

The match unfolded as a high-intensity contest, with Toulon holding 69 percent possession and dominating the set piece, winning six scrum penalties en route to a 92 percent success rate compared to Bath's 71 percent. Tries for the hosts came from Brian Alainu'u'ese, Juan Ignacio Brex, Gael Drean, Lewis Ludlam, and Teddy Baubigny, with fly-half Mateo Garcia contributing 20 points through four conversions and four penalties. Bath responded resiliently, crossing through Ted Hill, Santiago Carreras, Arthur Green, and Louie Hennessey, while Finn Russell added 14 points with flawless kicking.

Toulon led 18-13 at halftime after a back-and-forth exchange, including penalties from Russell and Garcia bookending Alainu'u'ese's early try. Bath briefly took the lead with Hill's close-range effort, but Brex restored the hosts'...