Peter Bills praises the skill levels on display as Bath and Toulouse scrapped to a 3-3 draw at The Rec inThe Independent.
"But just because the final Heineken Cup pool match of the season did not produce a whir of flowing rugby, does not mean it wasn’t a captivating contest. In many respects it was. For a start, you had to wonder in amazement how players handled the heavy, soaked and mud-caked ball at all. In days gone by, large forwards would have dropped just about every pass made and knocked on almost every time they tried to pick up the ball.
"It was a tribute to the skills of the modern player that so many of them managed to handle correctly and hold onto possession. As Bath fought, literally inch by inch to what they had hoped would be the winning score in the final moments, edging agonisingly close to the Toulouse line in a series of forward surges, you had to admire their technique.
"This was a match that proved rugby doesn’t have to have six tries apiece and 40 points on the board to be an intriguing spectacle."
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