"This is the gold medal - this is the one" - Dream endings and history on the line on BUCS Super Rugby finals day
Bath are eyeing a league and cup double in the Men's Milk Championship Final
©James Andrews
The stage is set once again at Rodney Parade.
BUCS Super Rugby finals day returns to Newport on Wednesday, where history and memories are made.
Back in South Wales for a second successive year, the showpiece event in the university rugby calendar delivers two finals, four teams, and drama guaranteed.
At 7pm, Loughborough University - finalists in each of the last two seasons - will hope it is third time lucky as they take on Brunel University in the Women's BUCS Super Rugby Milk Championship final.
But before that, the focus will be on the Men’s Milk Championship final at 3:30pm.
Newly crowned league champions Bath face a Loughborough side chasing redemption in their fourth consecutive BUCS Super Rugby final.
Since the competition’s introduction in 2016, Talking Rugby Union has followed its journey every step of the way - and even before that, Championship finals at Twickenham were a staple of our calendar.
Now, a decade on from the launch of BUCS Super Rugby, we're ready for another memorable day in Newport.
Men's BUCS Super Rugby Milk Championship
Bath chasing the “gold medal”
If the league campaign proved anything, it’s that there is little to separate Bath and Loughborough.
Two points decided the title. Nothing more.
The race for the league went down to the final round, with Bath completing the job in Durham following a 17-7 win, but the message going into the Milk Championship was the 'job is not done'.
A comeback 48-30 win over Cardiff in the quarter-finals was followed by a 33-20 victory over the aforementioned Durham to reach Rodney Parade.
Now, Bath Head of Rugby Aaron James wants his side to finish things off in their first-ever BSR final.
"If you took the points difference between the two games, then they win it," says James, reflecting on both league meetings against Loughborough.
Loughborough won the first encounter 42-26 before ‘The Brothers’ exacted their revenge with an ultimately decisive 40-31 victory in the penultimate round.
"Yes, it’s one each, one round each and the third round [the final] is to come and we’re hoping for the knockout," James continues.
"It’s just different because we’ve never got here. We’re always known as the chokers who haven’t got past the quarters and semis.
"But we’ve just really focused on keeping the mental side, keeping things the same and that constant improvement every day.
"We’ve been fortunate. We’ve had 45 training on Monday and Tuesday, and 23 will get selected.
"But the whole culture of the squad is reaching new levels. The effort to win and perform well in the final has been amazing because there are guys who know they’re not going to be selected who have carried on and tried to help the boys.
"So that’s been pretty special. I’ve been able to challenge the boys’ skills, technically and tactically, to improve. What remains is to see how we perform on Wednesday, but hopefully it puts us in a better place.
"It’s exciting to have the opportunity, exciting for the players and all the people that have been involved in the build-up."
Defeats against Loughborough and Durham either side of November could have rocked Bath, but since then, the Blue and Gold have won 13 straight matches.
"It’s been our best season," James adds. "We’ve got through what we thought would be some pretty tough times after Christmas.
"But 13 wins in a row got us the league title, because the way we were sitting and what we were looking at before Christmas, it just means we’re humbled by it.
"It’s great to win the league, and we’re very proud to do it, but this is the gold medal. We sort of probably got across and got the silver medal [the league], and it’s great, but we’re not there as this is the one."
Webdale excited by return to Rodney Parade
But if Bath are hoping to write a new chapter, Loughborough are trying to find a different ending to theirs.
After losing two of the last three Championship finals, including a narrow 35-31 defeat to Hartpury last year, head coach Martin Webdale believes his side are ready to raise their level once again.
"It’s always exciting this time of year when you get in the BUCS Super Rugby Championship final," he says.
"The players probably go up a notch in terms of their energy and their enthusiasm around training, and that’s what it’s all about.
"Having something to play for at the end of the season is always great, and this year against Bath is really, really exciting.
"They are a really good side, with some outstanding individuals across the board in their squad. We won at home earlier in the season and lost down in Bath towards the back end of the season.
"They’re very physical, they've got a good set piece, got a good strong kicking game and lots of carrying threats across the board as well as some paces on the edges."
Loughborough’s route to their latest final has tested them. A late win over Hartpury (28-25) and a breathless 58-48 victory over Exeter University came in demanding circumstances, both physically and mentally.
"We’ve had a tough run in the Championship," Webdale admits. "Two really tough games. Hartpury in the quarter-final, Exeter in the semi-final.
"The Hartpury game, obviously, Hartpury are a good side, but it was a game that was conditions-dictated.
"It was like four seasons in one day with gale-force winds, which prevented much rugby from being played.
"And then the Exeter semi-final was a huge game of events. We raced out to a good lead, they came back and as our games with Exeter are, they’re always sort of last score, last play games and it was a couple of weeks ago too.
"I think that’s a positive, though. It will stand us in good stead in terms of two tough tests, then going into the final which will be the ultimate test."
Women's BUCS Super Rugby Milk Championship
After the men’s final, Loughborough’s women will be looking to banish recent heartache when they take on Brunel.
The African Violet lost the 2023/24 final 34-22 to Hartpury at Saracens’ StoneX Stadium before suffering further disappointment in Newport last year, going down 30-29 to Cardiff Met.
This season, they finished second behind an unbeaten Hartpury side before defeating Cardiff 82-0 and Exeter 24-15 to reach the Championship final once again.
Brunel, meanwhile, have already shown their ability to upset the odds.
In their maiden season in WBSR, they finished fifth but stunned last year's champions Cardiff Met 36-26 and then league winners Hartpury 22-15 away from home to secure their spot in Newport.
Brunel won six out of their 12 games in the league, and they did beat Loughborough 36-33 in February after losing the reverse fixture 27-14 in November.
For one of these universities, history will be made. Will Loughborough finally get their hands on the trophy, or will Brunel cap a remarkable first campaign at this level by lifting the biggest prize?
