David Skrela sinks Bath in the dying moments
Bath were left wondering what could have been on Sunday as they missed out on a victory that was in the bag right up until the last ten seconds. But it was not to be as Toulouse flyhalf David Skrela slotted a winning penalty that had the 35 000 strong home crowd on their feet, and the Bath players and fans stunned.
In a game that was as much absorbing and tense as it was exciting at the end, Bath could have and should have come out on top after getting themselves in a winning position with very little time left.
Nick Abendanon was named man of the match, three minutes too early though as his try had looked to break French hearts. With two minutes to go, Bath were ahead by one and even with the missed conversion attempt by Butch James, looked as if they were in stall for a famous victory.
But, it went horribly wrong as their attempts to wind down the clock failed and they somehow coughed up the ball, handing Toulouse one last chance at cracking the line.
Toulouse attacked down the right wing, and a last gasp tackle by Butch James saved the try, but gave away a vital penalty with time up.
David Skrela stepped forward with the clock showing 80 minutes.
He judged the wind perfectly, and while the groans from the crowd had you thinking it was going wide, it cut back at the last possible moment, snatching a last gasp win that shattered Bath hearts.
Incidentally, Byron Kelleher was cited for the stamp on Butch James’ legs at that last ruck. He has since been cleared though, as the commission found him not guilty.
Final Score: 18-16 to Toulouse
In a game that was as much absorbing and tense as it was exciting at the end, Bath could have and should have come out on top after getting themselves in a winning position with very little time left.
Nick Abendanon was named man of the match, three minutes too early though as his try had looked to break French hearts. With two minutes to go, Bath were ahead by one and even with the missed conversion attempt by Butch James, looked as if they were in stall for a famous victory.
But, it went horribly wrong as their attempts to wind down the clock failed and they somehow coughed up the ball, handing Toulouse one last chance at cracking the line.
Toulouse attacked down the right wing, and a last gasp tackle by Butch James saved the try, but gave away a vital penalty with time up.
David Skrela stepped forward with the clock showing 80 minutes.
He judged the wind perfectly, and while the groans from the crowd had you thinking it was going wide, it cut back at the last possible moment, snatching a last gasp win that shattered Bath hearts.
Incidentally, Byron Kelleher was cited for the stamp on Butch James’ legs at that last ruck. He has since been cleared though, as the commission found him not guilty.
Final Score: 18-16 to Toulouse
:: Related Posts ::
Banahan bounces Donguy then smashes Medard
Welcome to the game David Skrela - Vosloo hit
Time: 05:53
Banahan bounces Donguy then smashes Medard
Welcome to the game David Skrela - Vosloo hit
Share | Tweet |
24 Comments:
Last warning !
Go toulouse!
By Anonymous, at October 17, 2008 1:10 pm
Great kick.
By Anonymous, at October 17, 2008 1:26 pm
lol cba bein a bath supporter . . . TOULOUSE 2 WIN !
By Anonymous, at October 17, 2008 1:51 pm
i think kick goals should be for 2 points; because as we saw last saturday bath deserve to win but the only thing that made toulouse was to kick at goal and nothing else
By Anonymous, at October 17, 2008 3:41 pm
Yea , the kicks should be for 2 points and the try for 6 , it would be a lot more fair because now you can score a try (5 points) but you oponnent kick 2 penalties or drops and you lose. The try should be more appreciated
By Unknown, at October 17, 2008 4:29 pm
What a finish!
Heartbreak for Bath...
By Torsten, at October 17, 2008 4:52 pm
funny comments...
for once an english team lost scoring more tries and now they want to change the points awarded for tries...
Tououse won the english way with penalties and I can understand it's not the nicest way to win but still if you lower the points awarded for penalties you're gonna have more faults and fewer tries...
By franz, at October 17, 2008 5:20 pm
Go Toulouse and Skrela! Superb and dificult kick in the last second...
By Anonymous, at October 17, 2008 6:45 pm
So gutted by this. I've been waiting for Bath to reclaim their rightful European Crown for ten years since the last one! Although i was absolutely heartbroken,Franz is absolutely right. Points are point and whilst I would like to see them changed whilst they remain the same one has to accept that if you score more, you win. Plain and simple.
By Anonymous, at October 17, 2008 7:18 pm
lol. an english criticises penalties. sour grapes make you say funny things
By Anonymous, at October 17, 2008 7:29 pm
Floppy old kick at the end there, but I guess he had it under control the whole time. ;) Superb.
Fantastic finish. Gutted for Bath. And Butch James - does he ever just have a standard game these days! lol
By Anonymous, at October 17, 2008 8:09 pm
Its pathetic to say óh a kck should be worth less' bath were a far superior team and if they hadnt lost the ball in key positions and if butch took his kicks they would have one easily.
By Anonymous, at October 17, 2008 9:06 pm
classic match, worthy of the final
its not English people complaining about penalties
By Anonymous, at October 17, 2008 9:24 pm
When Wilkinson slots 27 points for the English team then it's ok, but when a French team beats an English one, then it's not good. Hahaha, you brits will always make me laugh ;)
By Anonymous, at October 17, 2008 10:56 pm
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
By Anonymous, at October 18, 2008 12:12 am
tbh bath would have won if butch had kicked his goals
so it goes to show you cant always win pretty
By Anonymous, at October 18, 2008 5:31 pm
NEEEEEEEECE WAN!!!
By Anonymous, at October 18, 2008 7:15 pm
you guys are riding on claasens and james.
hire a goal kicker if you need more security.
he's a soth african flyhalf - not an english one.
By Anonymous, at October 20, 2008 6:17 pm
Given how lax referees are at letting a team take a lineout at the end of the match, Bath should've kicked to touch at least a phase before the turnover.
By Rawling, at October 21, 2008 5:35 pm
this is ridiculous, anonymous is an idiot, the penalty scoring system is their own fault, the more penalties u give away the more likely you are going to lose, simple as that!!! although i like bath, it was a controlled quality kick to finish it off!! GO TOLOUSE ...
By wasps all the way, at December 18, 2008 7:48 pm
"Shattering moment"
i can't believe how biased Sky are!
if skrela had touch the post it would have been the greatest moment of rugby for them
ERC, Heineken and Sky are always and still against french clubs
By Flooz, at May 13, 2009 6:11 pm
excellent match, great advert for rugby, great intensity right until the final second!
By Anonymous, at August 06, 2009 3:03 pm
That kick, at the end of the game, that's rugby at it's best!
Sedique
By Anonymous, at October 28, 2009 3:17 pm
Sedique, It is the best of both all sides of the game, a kick, that kick
By Sedique Abrahams, at October 28, 2009 3:18 pm
Post a Comment
<< Home