It's not over (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

It's not over

FORMER Leicester and England hooker Richard Cockerill has promised Bath ''a warm reception'' in Montferrand for the second leg of the Parker Pen Challenge Cup semi-final in two weeks time after the Zurich Premiership leaders grabbed a precious advantage at the Rec.

Four second-half home tries turned the first leg on its head on Saturday after Cockerill's classy French teammates had threatened to land a knockout blow on Bath's league and cup double ambitions.

The 50th-minute sending-off of prop David Attoub by Irish referee David McHugh altered the complexion of the match, which the visiting Vulcans led 15-3 at one stage.

Andy Beattie's last-minute pushover try increased Bath's lead at the midway point of the tie to a potentially decisive 14 points.

Ex-Tigers man Cockerill admitted that had left his side with a mountain to climb, but warned that Montferrand should not yet be discounted.

''French players on French soil are always a different prospect,'' he said.

''We're a good side even though we're struggling in our championship. This is our last realistic hope of qualifying for the Heineken Cup next season and this club deserves to be in that league.''

He added: ''The score flattered them a little bit at the end. They were struggling in the first half and at the start of the second, but we found ourselves on the back foot after the sending-off.

''We'll get a bit of dressing down on Monday as our indiscipline was disgusting. But we defended well which is rare from French teams.

''We've got to play to score from the start in the return game and we have got the players to do that. They will get a warm reception when they come back to us. We were 20-3 down against Newcastle yet we came back to win the game.''

Attoub's indiscretion was a hammer blow to Montferrand, who looked a class act in the opening 40 minutes against an apparently out-of-sorts home side.

Fly-half Gerald Merceron barged over for the opening try on 22 minutes and it got worse two minutes later as France flanker Olivier Magne ghosted through a Bath lineout to intercept Martyn Wood's pass and sprint over from 50 metres.

Full-back Anthony Floch converted, but the visitors went down to 14 men six minutes later when No 8 Marc Reynaud was sin-binned for deliberately killing the ball after a thrilling surge by Bath wing Wylie Human.

Olly Barkley at last got the hosts on the board with a penalty, but the half ended in bizarre fashion after eight minute of injury time.

First, Bath No 8 Zac Feaunati and Attoub saw yellow after an punch-up involving several players, even though the home player appeared to be an innocent party. Then Cockerill exchanged words - and blows - with his own prop, Brent Moyle.

Floch kicked Montferrand back into a 12-point lead, but when Attoub left the fray for aiming two boots at Bath players, the wheels came off.

Barkley touched down after Feaunati's midfield surge, then Human finished off the returning Matt Perry's break in the corner.

Barkley converted that as he did the penalty try that McHugh awarded after finally losing patience with the Vulcans' constant infringing at scrummages near their own line on 73 minutes.

And he made it a hat-trick of conversions in injury-time when Beattie surged across to cap a fine comeback.

Bath: Perry, Crockett, Higgins (Fleck 64), Maggs, Human, Barkley, Wood, Flatman, Humphreys (capt) (Mears 50), Bell (Stevens 33), Borthwick, Fidler (Gray 76), Beattie, Lipman (Scaysbrook 75), Feaunati. Subs not used: Blake, Malone.

Montferrand: Flock, Rougerie, Comba, Marsh (capt), Kuzbik, Merceron, Moreau, Moyle (Cockerill 78), Cockerill (Brandon 67), Attoub, Pearce, Louw (Martin 80), Dieude (Delpuech 38-40, temporary & 61), Magne (Audebert 67), Reynaud (Vermeulen 75). Subs not used: Howard, Bory

Referee: David McHugh (Ireland)

Attendance: 7,700

Yellow cards: Bath: Feaunati 40; Montferrand: Reynaud 33, Attoub 40.

Red cards: Montferrand: Attoub 50, second yellow