Latest news with #TomDunn
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Tom Dunn hails Ben Spencer's ‘contagious' effect after Bath's Challenge Cup win
Tom Dunn has hailed captain Ben Spencer's 'contagious' effect on the club after Bath edged closer towards an historic trophy treble. Dunn and company added the EPCR Challenge Cup to a cabinet that already contained the Premiership Rugby Cup by beating Lyon 37-12 in Cardiff on Friday. Having guaranteed themselves a home Premiership play-off in April – possibly against west country rivals Bristol at the Recreation Ground on June 6 – Bath are two wins away from league title glory. Challenge Cup Champions! 🔵⚫️⚪️ 🤝 @theTRUESPEED — Bath Rugby (@BathRugby) May 23, 2025 It all represents an astonishing transformation from just under three years ago when head of rugby Johann van Graan arrived at the club from Munster. Bath propped up the Premiership in 2022, losing 18 league games and finishing 60 points behind regular-season table-toppers Leicester. Dunn, who joined the club 10 years earlier, has been through thick and thin and made more Premiership appearances for Bath than any other player. And he readily recognises the contribution of England international scrum-half Spencer to Bath's success, which he underlined with a player-of-the-match display against Lyon. 'Ben is brilliant,' Bath hooker Dunn said. 'It is the example he sets. 'He emptied the tank. He chases every kick, he is our main man in defence, he is the one who sets the tempo. 'Boys like me push the piano – he plays it. His decision-making, his skill, his accuracy is contagious to the team and the entire group. He is an example on the pitch.' Reflecting on Bath's Challenge Cup success, Dunn added: 'The hunger has been there for as long as I can remember. 👏 The 2024/25 #ChallengeCupRugby winners @BathRugby 👏 The English side lift the trophy at the Principality Stadium 🏆 — EPCR Challenge Cup (@ChallengeCup_) May 23, 2025 'This isn't the end – there is no end to it. The hunger is huge, and it is driven mostly by the players who aren't playing. 'They are the ones that push us in the week, they are the ones that drive the standards in training. They paint the pictures that we want to paint on the weekend.' Bath, 15 points clear at the Premiership summit, face Saracens in their final regular-season game next weekend. Attention will then turn to the knockout phase, with Bath closing in on a second successive Allianz Stadium appearance following their 25-21 defeat against Northampton in last year's final. Spencer said: 'The (Challenge Cup final) performance was something that has been building for a very long time, and to see the hunger, see the fight of this group was unbelievable. 'These moments don't come around very often, and you have to enjoy them and embrace them. We've worked hard for this trophy. 'This group is unbelievably hungry to get better, and I have no doubt on Tuesday we will back to zero, which is something we speak about all the time.'
The Independent
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Tom Dunn hails Ben Spencer's ‘contagious' effect after Bath's Challenge Cup win
Tom Dunn has hailed captain Ben Spencer's 'contagious' effect on the club after Bath edged closer towards an historic trophy treble. Dunn and company added the EPCR Challenge Cup to a cabinet that already contained the Premiership Rugby Cup by beating Lyon 37-12 in Cardiff on Friday. Having guaranteed themselves a home Premiership play-off in April – possibly against west country rivals Bristol at the Recreation Ground on June 6 – Bath are two wins away from league title glory. It all represents an astonishing transformation from just under three years ago when head of rugby Johann van Graan arrived at the club from Munster. Bath propped up the Premiership in 2022, losing 18 league games and finishing 60 points behind regular-season table-toppers Leicester. Dunn, who joined the club 10 years earlier, has been through thick and thin and made more Premiership appearances for Bath than any other player. And he readily recognises the contribution of England international scrum-half Spencer to Bath's success, which he underlined with a player-of-the-match display against Lyon. 'Ben is brilliant,' Bath hooker Dunn said. 'It is the example he sets. 'He emptied the tank. He chases every kick, he is our main man in defence, he is the one who sets the tempo. 'Boys like me push the piano – he plays it. His decision-making, his skill, his accuracy is contagious to the team and the entire group. He is an example on the pitch.' Reflecting on Bath's Challenge Cup success, Dunn added: 'The hunger has been there for as long as I can remember. 'This isn't the end – there is no end to it. The hunger is huge, and it is driven mostly by the players who aren't playing. 'They are the ones that push us in the week, they are the ones that drive the standards in training. They paint the pictures that we want to paint on the weekend.' Bath, 15 points clear at the Premiership summit, face Saracens in their final regular-season game next weekend. Attention will then turn to the knockout phase, with Bath closing in on a second successive Allianz Stadium appearance following their 25-21 defeat against Northampton in last year's final. Spencer said: 'The (Challenge Cup final) performance was something that has been building for a very long time, and to see the hunger, see the fight of this group was unbelievable. 'These moments don't come around very often, and you have to enjoy them and embrace them. We've worked hard for this trophy. 'This group is unbelievably hungry to get better, and I have no doubt on Tuesday we will back to zero, which is something we speak about all the time.'
CNA
23-05-2025
- Sport
- CNA
Bath overwhelm Lyon to win Challenge Cup
CARDIFF -Bath completed the second stage of what they hope will be a dream treble when they proved too good in all areas for Lyon and romped to a 37-12 triumph in the European Challenge Cup final on Friday. Bath, who won the Premiership Cup this season and who will go into a home semi-final as the clear leaders of the English Premiership, were the better team throughout, but enjoyed the rub of the green in a controversial first half after an Ethan Dumortier try had given Lyon an early lead. Tries for Tom Dunn and Max Ojomoh put Bath 17-5 up at halftime, but they had two men sin-binned, with Sam Underhill extremely lucky not to see red for a sickening head on head challenge, before Lyon had a try ruled out for obstruction. Arno Botha scored for Lyon - 11th in the Top 14 standings - at the start of the second half, but Bath took control as tries for Beno Obano and man of the match scrumhalf Ben Spencer capped a dominant night.
Reuters
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Bath overwhelm Lyon to win Challenge Cup
CARDIFF, May 23 - Bath completed the second stage of what they hope will be a dream treble when they proved too good in all areas for Lyon and romped to a 37-12 triumph in the European Challenge Cup final on Friday. Bath, who won the Premiership Cup this season and who will go into a home semi-final as the clear leaders of the English Premiership, were the better team throughout, but enjoyed the rub of the green in a controversial first half after an Ethan Dumortier try had given Lyon an early lead. Tries for Tom Dunn and Max Ojomoh put Bath 17-5 up at halftime, but they had two men sin-binned, with Sam Underhill extremely lucky not to see red for a sickening head on head challenge, before Lyon had a try ruled out for obstruction. Arno Botha scored for Lyon - 11th in the Top 14 standings - at the start of the second half, but Bath took control as tries for Beno Obano and man of the match scrumhalf Ben Spencer capped a dominant night.
BBC News
23-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Bath overpower Lyon to win European Challenge Cup
European Challenge Cup finalBath: (17) 37Tries: Dunn, Ojomoh, Obano, Spencer Cons: Russell 4 Pens: Russell 3Lyon: (5) 12Tries: Dumortier, Bortha Cons: Berdeu Bath clinched their first European title in 17 years with an overpowering display against Lyon in the Challenge Cup final in Cardiff's Principality Premiership league leaders survived first-half ill-discipline with two players being shown yellow to take a 17-5 lead through Tom Dunn and Max Ojomoh Obano then scored their third before captain Ben Spencer dived under the posts to seal the Niniashvili and Arno Botha scored the only points for Top14 side Lyon who came into the match as the in-form team in the competition but who were outplayed across much of the field. The game marks the start of what could be an era-defining three weeks for Bath, who remain on course for a historic treble this won the Premiership Rugby Cup in February and are heavy favourites to win the Premiership title for the first time since 1996, after securing top spot with three rounds of games to go to cruise into the play-off to follow. Bath: De Glanville; Cokanasiga, Ojomoh, Butt, Muir; Russell, Spencer (c); Obano, Dunn, Stuart, Roux, Ewels, Hill, Underhill, Annett, Van Wyk, Du Toit, Molony, Pepper, Carr-Smith, Donoghue, Underhill (28 mins), Muir (34 mins).Lyon: Niniashvili; Rattez, Maraku, Millet, Dumortier; Berdeu, Couilloud (c); Rey, Chat, Ainsley, William, Guillard, Cretin, Saginadze, Marchand, Kaabeche, Aptsiauri, Lambey, Allen, Gouzou, Page-Relo, Hollie Davidson.
