Borthwick relishes trophy send-off
Sun, 25 May 2008 17:52
Parting shot: Steve Borthwick and Olly Barkley with the European Challenge Cup trophy
Bath ended a 10-year trophy drought and gave departing captain Steve Borthwick a fitting farewell as they lifted the European Challenge Cup at the third attempt at a soggy Kingsholm on Sunday.
The England captain ended a decade of service to the club by guiding them to their first bit of silverware since 1998 and eradicating the misery of two losing tournament finals.
"Any season is judged by what happens at the end of it and to lift this trophy is just fantastic," said Borthwick.
"It's very emotional as I have a great 10 years with Bath and it is just brilliant for these players to get this reward."
Coach Steve Meehan was adamant that "over the course of 80 minutes" Bath was the better team.
"This has to be the start of something and we have to get better, you can't stand still but we have now proved we can win grand finals," Meehan said.
"We knew we had to play a tighter game because of the conditions but with the pack we have got I didn't see any problems."
Former Wales coach Mike Ruddock, now in charge at Worcester, said: "There was a lot if emotional out there, but Bath were more streetwise and played the conditions better.
"I think they have learnt from their losing finals just what it takes to nail down a win on these big occasions.
"We fell a little bit short today but Bath had done their homework and we have to be proud of our achievement in getting to this European Challenge Cup final."
