Bath recovered from a disappointing first half to reach the Champions Cup quarter-finals with a 31-22 win over Saracens at the Recreation Ground, setting up a last-eight tie at home to Northampton Saints.
Trailing 10-0 at the interval, Bath’s England back quartet helped turn the game around. Henry Arundell crossed early in the second half, Joe Cokanasiga finished a loose-ball break, Ben Spencer completed a long-range move that began from their own try-line, and Ollie Lawrence crashed over from close range. Arundell sealed the win with a late second try in the 80th minute. Spencer’s 59th-minute score briefly looked pivotal, but Saracens pressed hard and only conceded definitively when Arundell ran in at the death.
Saracens had dominated much of the first half and opened the scoring when Charlie Bracken deceived Cokanasiga from the base of a maul to score in the 14th minute. Owen Farrell added a penalty, but Saracens wasted several chances, including an early held-up ball and a missed penalty from Fergus Burke. Guy Pepper received a yellow for cynically handling on the floor, leaving Saracens unable to convert control into a bigger lead.
Bath’s scrum had been under pressure before half-time, but the introduction of prop Thomas du Toit shored up the set-piece; the South African tighthead was later named man of the match. Beno Obano was sin-binned for repeated scrum penalties, a period that saw the momentum swing. Du Toit’s impact at the scrum forced a penalty that led to Cokanasiga’s try. Bath produced a standout defensive sequence when they dislodged the ball from Andy Onyeama-Christie as he threatened to score, then countered from their own 22 — Cokanasiga escaped, found Alfie Barbeary, who fed Spencer to finish from long range.
Saracens hit back through Max Malins in the left corner after pressure sparked by Maro Itoje and Ivan van Zyl, and Noah Caluori replied after Lawrence’s score, but yellow cards to Harry Wilson for a dangerous tackle and earlier sin-binnings disrupted Saracens’ rhythm. Bath ultimately held on for the victory and the quarter-final berth.
Glasgow 25-21 Bulls
Glasgow edged a wet, windy clash with Bulls to advance 25-21. Max Williamson opened the scoring with a try converted by Dan Lancaster, but Bulls replied through Johan Grobbelaar and penalties from Handre Pollard. Glasgow regained the lead after Jack Dempsey and Patrick Schickerling tries, and though Marco van Staden’s late converted score made it tight, an Elrigh Louw yellow allowed Adam Hastings to kick a decisive penalty.
Toulouse 59-26 Bristol
Six-time champions Toulouse ran in nine tries in a 59-26 rout of Bristol to reach the quarter-finals. Bristol struck first through Fritz Harding, but Toulouse responded with a blistering spell: Jack Willis, Peato Mauvaka (twice), and Kalvin Gourgues crossed inside 20 minutes. Matthis Lebel and Gourgues added further first-half scores to make it 40-7 at the break. Romain Ntamack was sin-binned, but Toulouse still extended their lead after the restart, with Teddy Thomas adding a brace. Bristol’s late tries from James Williams and Noah Heward offered consolation.
Sale 26-17 Harlequins
George Ford’s boot proved decisive as Sale beat Harlequins 26-17 to reach the quarter-finals. Ford scored 16 points via two conversions and four penalties; Luke Cowan-Dickie added Sale’s tries. Harlequins fought back with two tries from Alex Dombrandt and one from Chandler Cunningham-South, but Sale’s earlier 26-5 lead was enough to see them through.