Tub hooker Tom Dunn has paid glowing tribute to captain Ben Spencer following their emphatic 37-12 EPCR Challenge Cup ultimate win over Lyon, hailing the scrum-half’s relentless affect as “contagious” because the membership properties in on a historic treble.
Dunn, a decade-long servant of the membership and Tub’s all-time Premiership look chief, watched Spencer ship a player-of-the-match efficiency in Cardiff, inspiring a dominant show that secured a second piece of silverware this season.
“Ben is good,” mentioned Dunn. “It’s the instance he units.
“He emptied the tank. He chases each kick, he’s our most important man in defence, he’s the one who units the tempo.
“Boys like me push the piano – he performs it. His decision-making, his talent, his accuracy is contagious to the group and your complete group. He’s an instance on the pitch.”
Bath, already Premiership Rugby Cup winners, now have just two more hurdles to clear in their pursuit of the league title. Having secured a home semi-final, potentially against West Country rivals Bristol on June 6, they’re 160 minutes away from a primary Premiership crown since 1996.
Dunn, reflecting on the transformation beneath Johann van Graan since 2022, mentioned the driving drive throughout the squad stays as robust as ever.
“The starvation has been there for so long as I can bear in mind,” he mentioned. “This isn’t the tip – there isn’t any finish to it. The starvation is big, and it’s pushed largely by the gamers who aren’t taking part in.
“They’re those that push us within the week, they’re those that drive the requirements in coaching. They paint the photographs that we wish to paint on the weekend.”
From a facet that completed backside of the Premiership simply three seasons in the past, 60 factors off the tempo, Tub have been rebuilt with a steely edge and an unmistakable group identification. Spencer’s management has been central to that shift, and his response to lifting the Problem Cup on Friday evening was usually grounded.
“The (Problem Cup ultimate) efficiency was one thing that has been constructing for a really very long time, and to see the starvation, see the combat of this group was unbelievable,” mentioned Spencer.
“These moments don’t come round fairly often, and you must take pleasure in them and embrace them. We’ve labored exhausting for this trophy.
“This group is unbelievably hungry to get higher, and I’ve little doubt on Tuesday we shall be again to zero, which is one thing we discuss on a regular basis.”
