Ath Wins First European Rugby Trophy in 17 Years with 34-12 Victory Over Lyon

Bath beat French Top 14 team Lyon 34-12 to win their first European trophy in 17 years. The match took place at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

Bath, leaders of the Premiership, scored four tries. They played well even after two players got yellow cards in the first half. Bath kept Lyon from scoring during that time.

Coach Spencer said, "Tonight’s play shows what we have built for a long time. The hunger and fight in the team was amazing. We stayed strong when two players were off. That shows the spirit we want."

Bath last won a big trophy in 2008. Steve Borthwick, now England’s head coach, was their captain then.

Bath could win three trophies this season. They already won the Premiership Rugby Cup in February. They are also favorites to win the Premiership title.

Fly-half Finn Russell joined Bath in 2023. He helped change the team a lot. Russell said winning this was a "big step" for the club. He kicked four conversions and three penalties. This is his first big European win. He lost two finals before with his old club Racing 92.

Russell told BBC Points West, "It’s been a long wait for Bath to win this. We worked hard to get here. The work is not done yet, but winning is amazing."

Hooker Tom Dunn has played for Bath since 2012. He said, "We always want to get better. The hunger and fire in this team is strong. We train hard to win."

Lyon scored first with a try from Ethan Dumortier. Bath then scored tries from Dunn and Max Ojomoh. The first half ended tough for Bath when Sam Underhill and Will Muir got yellow cards. Bath played with 13 men for a while.

Lyon’s Arno Botha scored another try. But Bath pulled away with tries from Beno Obano and Spencer.

Lyon’s coach Karim Ghezal said one yellow card against Bath was "rather dodgy," but he would not complain. He said, "Bath is a strong team. We knew they were tough."

Bath now face big games soon. They play Saracens on Saturday, 31 May. Then they have a home semi-final on Friday, 6 June. The winner goes to the Twickenham final.

Coach Johann van Graan said the trophy shows the hard work of everyone at Bath. He said they enjoy their journey as a team.

Van Graan said, "We will enjoy Friday, then get back to work on Tuesday. We are not chasing anything. We enjoy this journey together."