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Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Bath 37-12 Lyon: Johann van Graan's side seal second part of treble with European Challenge Cup final win over Lyon as Sam Underhill escapes red
Two down, one to go for Bath. An historic treble inches ever closer. This European Challenge Cup success followed March's Premiership Rugby Cup victory. Now, only the Gallagher Premiership – the holy grail for millionaire club owner Bruce Craig – remains outstanding. Win that and Bath's class of 2025 will seal their place in history. Bath are certainly favourites for the league title having already sealed a home semi-final. Winning three trophies in one season would be beyond Bath's wildest dreams. Here, they benefited from the decision making of referee Hollie Davidson to get the better of a resilient French side in Lyon. Davidson became the first woman to officiate a European final. But she should have sent Sam Underhill from the field for dangerous tackling in the first half. That she didn't amounted to a game-defining moment, allowing Bath to end a 17-year wait for a first European trophy. Davidson lacked control of the game, with Bath captain and player of the match Ben Spencer allowed to benefit to his team's advantage. It left Lyon not only beaten, but understandably frustrated. 'I'm grateful and incredibly happy for all the people of Bath,' said Bath head of rugby Van Graan, after his team recorded the biggest Challenge Cup final winning margin since 1998. 'I think Hollie had an excellent game. I'll stick with what the officials decide. The best is yet to come. I'm ecstatic for all involved. 'I've been coaching for 23 years but what happened was special. This is a champion team now. We'll try to get better and better. There are more things to conquer.' Spencer said: 'We speak a lot about working hard for each other. That's something we really pride ourselves on – when we go down to 14 men and how hard we want to fight. To not concede in that double yellow card period was outstanding. 'The togetherness in this group is absolutely unbelievable. Our boys showed a different level of intensity we haven't seen yet this season. 'I'm so proud to give the fans what they deserve after so many years of hurt.' Cardiff's Westgate Street was lined with Bath fans hours before kick-off, Van Graan's players choosing to walk to Principality Stadium from their city centre hotel to embrace the electric atmosphere. After years of misery, Bath's loyal supporters are now thirsty for success. They made Cardiff a cauldron and inside the ground, the roof nearly came off as Spencer led his team in a last pre-match lap. Lyon started quickest, however. Ethan Dumortier opened the scoring after his corner try was approved by TMO Mike Adamson. Finn Russell responded with a penalty. It was a scrappy opening. Will Butt charged through midfield. He couldn't find the killer pass, but it also didn't matter as hooker Tom Dunn soon barged over. Russell converted. Spencer kicked a 50:22. Slowly, Bath were getting on top and Max Ojomoh made it two. Underhill had been at the centre of Bath's power game, excelling on the flank. But when he collided head-on-head with Lyon's wonderful Georgian attacker, Davit Niniashvili, Underhill should have been shown a red card. There was no mitigation or excuse for him hitting Niniashvili so high. Davidson decided on showing yellow only, arguing there was mitigation as Niniashvili had changed direction. It was a clear nonsense and yet another reminder that while rugby continues to talk about protecting player welfare, it does not follow that with meaningful on-field action. Davidson then had to show the same card again, Will Muir joining Underhill in the sin bin for upending Dumortier in the air. With Bath down to 13, Lyon had to strike. Dumortier was at the heart of everything. He thought he'd made it a brace, but his effort from a long line-out throw was ruled out for blocking. It was salt in the wound for Lyon that it was a combination of Underhill and Ted Hill which stopped them scoring before the break. Russell kicked a penalty when the action resumed. But with Muir still in the sin bin, Arno Botha breathed life into Lyon's comeback. It didn't last long. Immediately after Van Graan introduced more power from the bench in the shape of Thomas du Toit, Guy Pepper and Alfie Barbeary, Beno Obano was driven over. When Spencer followed that with a try of his own after fine work by Tom de Glanville, it ended the game as a contest. Russell's third penalty only rubber stamped that. Bath just have too much brute force for most teams and it will be a surprise if they don't add a domestic crown to their burgeoning trophy cabinet in the weeks to come. Lyon coach Karim Ghezal said: 'We didn't score when they were down to 13. 'One of their yellow cards was rather dodgy. I will never complain about refereeing. 'Protection of the players is very important.'
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Spencer sparkles for Bath to overwhelm Lyon and win European Challenge Cup
Bath have been waiting a long time for nights like this. A first major trophy for 17 years – and only their second since they lifted the Heineken Cup back in 1998 – was also secured with a swagger reminiscent of the club's golden era. With the Premiership title still up for grabs next month, a potential treble-winning season is now within their grasp. While the Premiership Cup and the Challenge Cup might not, in isolation, be the most prestigious competitions in the professional club game there is no doubting Bath's increasing durability under screeching knock-out pressure. That said, they were lucky with a couple of contentious officiating calls which, had they gone the other way, might have made life appreciably harder. The awarding of only a yellow card to Sam Underhill rather than a red for a dangerous high challenge was just one of several contentious decisions for Hollie Davidson, the first female referee to officiate in a high-profile men's club final. In the end, though, Bath's familiar strength in depth off the bench paid its usual dividends and helped deliver four tries as they became the first English winners of this tournament for five years. French rugby does not have a total monopoly on power and tactical nous and when the outstanding Ben Spencer dived over to put his side clear early in the final quarter it was no less than Johann van Graan's team deserved. With the roof closed, the pitchside flame throwers at full blast and plenty of English supporters having made the short trip across the Severn Bridge, it certainly felt like a proper cup final, despite the minor caveat that Bath had trailed in fifth in their Champions Cup pool before entering this season's Challenge Cup equation. Lyon, appropriately clad in red, had also not read the West Country script. After just two minutes a slick passing sequence put their winger Ethan Dumortier over in the right corner and, after lengthy video scrutiny, the score was belatedly confirmed. The side currently lying in 11th place in the Top 14 can play some eye-catching rugby when the muse is with them. Bath, though, are a tough side to subdue indefinitely. Will Butt steamed clear through the middle to set up a prolonged spell of territorial pressure which, eventually, yielded a try for a burrowing Tom Dunn. Finn Russell's conversion made it 10-5 and, suddenly, the contest had a different feel. Spencer's left boot is also a tried and trusted tactical weapon and a raking 50-22 set up another promising position from which his side also profited. Again Spencer was at the heart of it, his long pass finding Max Ojomoh wide on the left and the centre's clever pirouette took him past the flat-footed cover. Any side containing a player of the pace and class of Davit Niniashvili, though, is never to be underestimated and the Georgian full-back duly set off on a daring surge which was only ended by a desperate upright tackle by Underhill. The England flanker was sent off by Davidson against Pau in the last 16 and was fortunate to receive only yellow this time. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion The same was true of Will Muir when he clattered Dumortier in the air to reduce Bath temporarily to 13 players. Lyon were also left frustrated when a slight nudge on Dunn in the buildup led to a potential try for Dumortier from a long lineout play being scrubbed out and the subsequent return of Underhill supplied some further Bath relief. Had Van Graan been offered a 12-point half-time lead in a pressure-laden final before kick-off, he would have snapped your hand off. Arno Botha's try four minutes after the restart, though, was a reminder that nothing could yet be guaranteed. Hence the roars when Beno Obano crashed over in the 50th minute to reestablish some daylight between the sides, with Russell's conversion leaving Lyon 15 points adrift. The gap grew wider when Tom de Glanville cut past a tiring defence and put Spencer away to seal a result that will further convince Bath that a seriously special season is brewing. It was also not an occasion Davidson will forget in a hurry, with the Scottish official firmly convinced there should be many more female referees at the top level of the men's game in future years. 'If you are are physically fit enough, mentally resilient, you know your stuff around the sport and have enough experience then there is nothing stopping women getting there. If you're good enough at your job, you're good enough at your job.' It is not her fault that rugby's high tackle regulations remain so open to interpretation.
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Listen: Davidson's rugby journey & URC review
Hollie Davidson - who will make history on Friday as the first woman to referee a Challenge Cup final - joins the BBC Scotland Rugby Podcast this week to discuss her rise from crushed dreams of playing to becoming a top also a look back at the weekend URC action as Edinburgh secured a play-off spot and Glasgow went down to a battling defeat at and subscribe on BBC Sounds
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
From injury to history - Davidson's rise to ref European final
When Hollie Davidson realised she would never fulfil her dreams of reaching the biggest stage as a rugby player, she did not give up or drift away from the she set off on a different path, one that would lead her to become one of the world's top Scot will make history on Friday night in Cardiff when she takes charge of Bath against Lyon in the Challenge Cup final, the first woman to referee a European is the latest in a list of landmark moments in the 32-year-old's career, one that seems to be on an upward all that, Davidson had ambitions of reaching the Test arena as a player. A talented half-back who could operate at scrum-half or fly-half, she was on the cusp of breaking into the Scotland team - until fate intervened."I was 19 going on 20 and I got invited up to my first senior women's Scotland camp," Davidson tells the BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast."I was named to get my first cap off the bench against the Netherlands. "Unfortunately, the weekend before we were supposed to fly out, I ended up injuring my shoulder."That injury plagued me for the next few years, surgeries followed and I just could never find my way back into that set up."I was gutted. It's so brutal when you get so close to something you want so much."For it to kind of be snatched away so quickly, it was brutal. I thought when that happened, that probably was my journey in rugby kind of over." When you see Davidson in the middle of a rugby match, you see a cool, confident demeanour in interviews is the same. She is an engaging personality, an excellent communicator and you can see why she commands the respect of confidence took a while to build, though. Starting out as a young female referee was not without its challenges."I actually think the early days are probably the hardest when you are trying to forge that reputation," Davidson says."You're arriving on your own to clubs that maybe have never had a female official. That in itself is quite daunting."Then, as you move up, people here in Scotland get to know you. I probably was going into those environments doubting myself: 'Oh, gosh, they think I'm a female ref, how are they going to be with me?' "Whereas, actually they don't care. So it's me accepting that's where I should be."It was more probably me getting over my own self-doubts than the players concerning themselves what my gender was." Davidson talks about taking charge of a United Rugby Championship match between the Sharks and pre-match coin toss with the two captains - Eben Etzebeth and Tadhg Beirne - arrived and Davidson says she felt completely at ease despite being next to "two powerhouses of our sport".The big moments have kept coming. She took charge of the 2021 Women's Rugby World Cup final, became the first female to officiate in the men's Six Nations as an assistant in 2023, and last year was the first woman to referee the world champion is continually raising the bar of her own ambitions, fuelled by a second chance to reach the heights she was unable to in her playing days."The big one would be to ref a men's Six Nations game," Davidson says. "Outside the World Cup, it's like an absolute pinnacle every single year when the Six Nations comes around."That was what made me fall in love with this game. Our schools coming down to Murrayfield on the buses. To then be a part of that, it would just be out of this world. I just think it would top anything that I've ever done so far."If that happens then I would put myself in contention to head to the men's World Cup [in Australia in 2027], but the men's World Cup won't come before a Six Nations game."So I just have to work really hard over this next year to hopefully have my name on that team sheet come the Six Nations."
STV News
14-05-2025
- Sport
- STV News
Scottish referee to be first woman to officiate European club rugby final
Scottish referee Hollie Davidson is to make history again when she becomes the first woman to take charge of a European Professional Club Rugby final. EPCR have announced that Davidson is to referee the Challenge Cup final between Bath and Lyon in Cardiff on May 23. She will also be the first Scot to referee a European rugby final since Jim Fleming oversaw Bath's Heineken Cup triumph in 1998. 'European rugby is the pinnacle of the professional game, and to be named as the Challenge Cup final referee is something that I never thought was possible when I was starting out,' Davidson told 'It has been a long time since a Scot has done a final, so I am just absolutely over the moon to be named as the referee for such a big game.' She previously made history in 2019 when she led an all-female team of match officials for a Portugal v Italy men's international. It was the first time an all-female team had taken charge of a men's Test match and the first time a female referee had officiated a men's Six Nations team in a Test. Davidson, who is from Aboyne, became Scottish rugby union's first full-time professional women's referee in 2017. She gave up her career in banking to pursue her dream and at the time she started full-time officiating, she was one of only three professionals in the world. Davidson played for Edinburgh University as a student before joining Murrayfield Wanderers. After two shoulder dislocations ended her playing career, she picked up the whistle and tried her hand at officiating and has since gone on to become a trailblazer in the sport. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
