Bath coach Johann van Graan.

There was no fairytale for Johann van Graan, who watched his Bath side knocked out of the Champions Cup semi-finals at the hands of defending champions Bordeaux-Begles on Sunday.

In a tense yet highly entertaining match at Stade Atlantique Bordeaux Métropole, it was the hosts who emerged 38-26 winners to set up a blockbuster final against Ireland’s Leinster in Bilbao on 23 May.

While he acknowledged after the match that Bordeaux had deserved to win, Van Graan was also critical of the officiating on the day.

The South African tactician suggested that the TMO had missed no less than three high hits on his No 8, Alfie Barbeary.

READ | The making of Johann van Graan

“All we want is consistency on both sides of the ball right through the competition,” he told the BBC after the match.

“I believe specifically that three carries from Alfie Barbeary made direct contact to the head.

“I want to make clear that the better team won on the day, but I want to ask why certain things are not picked up when you play away from home in France.”

While he was satisfied with the performance of all the officials and TMO Ben Whitehouse, Van Graan was more critical of the TMO not being shown the right footage at crucial times.

“The main point I want to make is that from a consistency point of view… that the TMO [television match official] gets access to all the footage he wants,” he said.

“From my point of view, you want the match officials to know what they are looking at. Whatever decision a ref makes is the final call.”

Bath, meanwhile, are still in the running for the English Premiership title. They are currently second on the table, four points behind leaders Northampton with four rounds of fixtures remaining.