Now that they are heading back to Bordeaux for the first time since winning the Heineken Cup there in 1998, Bath must somehow coerce history into repeating itself as never before.

During almost 30 years of subsequent European competition, no British contender has found the nerve to pick the blue riband trophy out of French pockets on French soil, which was roughly what Andy Nicol’s team did to Brive, the stylish holders who had wiped the floor with Dean Richards’ Leicester in the final the previous season.
In all that time, only one English finalist emulated Bath; Wasps against Toulouse in ...