Bath drained by Toulouse

David Skrela broke Bath's hearts in Toulouse as he landed a late, late penalty to secure a thrilling 18-16 win for the hosts at the Stade Municipal.

The fly-half held his nerve in the dying seconds to spare last year's beaten finalists after they had seemed set to suffer a rare loss on French soil.

Nick Abendanon's try with two minutes to play had appeared to have clinched a famous victory for Bath after a gripping Pool Five clash.

However, with Butch James unable to slot over the conversion Toulouse - three times champions of Europe - still had time to sneak it at the death.

Costly decision

To do so they needed their opponents to shoot themselves in the foot. Having claimed the re-start Bath opted to keep possession in the pack rather than kick the ball away.

The policy back-fired with dramatic consequences, a turnover allowing the hosts to attack and leading to the penalty that ended up being the difference between the two sides.

How Bath will rue their error, a losing bonus point little consolation having been so close to a stunning upset against one of the competition's favourites.

They had moved to the brink thanks to Abendanon's score, their second of the afternoon following on from Michael Claassens' earlier effort.

South African James played a part in both but his erratic kicking proved crucial, each conversion attempt going off target from angles tight on either side of the field.

In contrast opposite number Skrela was right on target when it mattered, kicking six penalties after a dreadful early miss as Toulouse relied on their kicker to win a match billed as a try-fest beforehand.

The French international had been hauled off in a recent league match for a poor display and early on it appeared he could again face the prospect of being benched.

His first penalty led to hoots of derision from the crowd still not fully behind the signing from Stade Francais. But, Skrela came back strongly - only missing one of his remaining shots at goal.

Several of his efforts came after Bath had been punished by referee George Clancy for opting to keep ball in hand rather than play it safe and clear their line, a lesson they failed to learn with dire consequences all day long.

Topsy-turvy performance

It was James who gave away the match-winning penalty, summing up a topsy-turvy performance from the World Cup winner.

He had given the Guinness Premiership leaders the advantage with an early penalty that proved their only points in the first 40 minutes that saw Toulouse finish in front, 6-3.

The gap had gone to six points before the first try came, James - who just seconds before had been taken out, fairly, in mid-air by Yannick Jauzion competing for a loose ball, charging down Byron Kelleher's clearance.

Scrum-half Claassens was in the right place to seize on the loose ball and dive over the line; though Skrela made sure Bath always remained behind.

They did not hit the front until the 78th minute, James again getting the assist as his pass set up Abendanon for what should have been the winner. Somehow it was Toulouse who were the ones celebrating at the final whistle.