Montpellier Beat Bath 32-14 in Champions Cup Opener

Montpellier started their Champions Cup campaign with a 32-14 win over Bath at The Rec, according to BBC Sport.

Bath had scored at least 33 points in each of their first three Prem games this season. This time, they struggled to make their attacks count. Bath had a try disallowed in both halves of the match.

Bath led 14-10 early in the second half when Joe Cokanasiga failed to cleanly gather a pass with the tryline open. Montpellier then took control of the match. They scored 22 points without reply after half-time.

Donovan Taofifenua scored a second-half double for Montpellier. Alex Becognee added a try for Montpellier in the final minutes. Max Ojomoh had a try ruled out for Bath after a knock-on, which means the ball was knocked forward before he scored.

The match began with Stuart Hogg scoring the first points for Montpellier. Ollie Lawrence scored a try in the corner for Bath, and Arthur Green also crossed the line for Bath. Before half-time, Adam Hastings kicked a penalty to keep Montpellier in touch.

Montpellier were beaten Top 14 finalists last season. They were also last season's Challenge Cup winners, so they came into this match with recent success in both competitions.

Bath's remaining pool fixtures are against Cardiff, Bulls and Stade Francais. In another pool match, Bulls beat Stade Francais 56-20 with eight tries. Cheswill Jooste scored a hat-trick for Bulls.

The match referee was Andrea Piardi of Italy.