Russell inspires Bath to Premiership title despite late Leicester fightback

Yahoo

20 hours ago

There was barely a cloud in the clear summer sky in south-west London and blue was also the primary colour on the field. For the first time in 29 years, Bath are the champions of England and any debate about the big-game nerve of Johann van Graan's multi-talented squad can now be quietly laid to rest alongside Leicester's shredded dreams.
Related: Leicester coach Cheika hits out at Cole yellow card after final defeat by Bath
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Bath will have some idea of how their old rivals are feeling, having suffered a similarly agonising fate against Northampton in last year's final. They were not at their absolute best by their own high standards, but once they finally remembered how to catch a rugby ball – a recurring problem in the first half – they had a touch too much for their opponents whose spirited final-quarter rally came too late.
The game-splitting moment had already arrived in the 49th minute courtesy of a deft interception by Finn Russell in his own half. Russell has several more big games ahead of him in a British & Irish Lions jersey but his quick mind was precisely why Bath invested so much cash to sign him. With the line not far away he lobbed the ball to the supporting Max Ojomoh who gleefully did the rest.
Ojomoh's dad, Steve, won 10 trophies with Bath in the 1990s including five league titles, so the young centre still has some catching up to do. For Bath supporters of a certain age, however, it was the sweetest of moments, a link between a glorious past and an increasingly enjoyable present. Their side are the sixth winners of the title in six seasons, but could conceivably be in the box seat for the foreseeable future.
Related: Bath hold off Leicester to win Premiership title after 23-21 victory – live reaction
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It was not the worst of days for South African sport, either. Having cleaned up in the World Test Championship final at Lord's, Bath's first try was scored by the charging Springbok prop Thomas du Toit and their victory was another triumph for the shrewd Van Graan, the Pretoria-raised head coach who has brought order and strategic nous to north-east Somerset.
This was the third trophy Bath have reeled in this season and, as with their Challenge Cup and Premiership Cup successes, they proved impossible to overhaul in the second half despite last-quarter tries from Solomone Kata and Emeka Ilione. Overall, it was another gripping advert for The Premiership – or the 'Prem', as it will be officially retitled from next season, apparently on the grounds that polysyllabic words are now for rugby dinosaurs. The continuing push to make rugby more marketable to a Gen Z audience could spell trouble for the double-barrelled likes of Ollie Hassell-Collins – or OHC as he will be known in future.
Of more immediate relevance was whether Leicester could possibly catch Bath cold in the early exchanges. After Sam Ryder and his electric guitar had murdered God Save The King in broad daylight, the lively Jack van Poortvliet sniped over from close range after a strong forward rumble and Handré Pollard, whose excellent kick to the corner had established the platform, also nailed the conversion
Bath did respond swiftly with a successful Russell penalty but when the fly-half made a lovely little half-break his pass to the charging Joe Cokanasiga fell frustratingly to earth. This is a side, though, who possess a wide range of threats. Close to the line they have any number of potential arrowheads and with 26 minutes gone it was the turn of the unstoppable Du Toit to storm through the defensive line and score. Now it was Leicester's turn to worry, particularly when Julián Montoya was sent to the sin-bin for a no arms tackle.
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While Bath were still making too many handling errors, this was too hot a day to be playing with a reduced number of players for long periods. Leicester also had to sacrifice their Welsh international openside Tommy Reffell to allow for a replacement hooker, and it was Bath who finished the half the stronger with Russell threading over another long-range penalty to extend the half-time margin to 13-7.
The 7-1 penalty count against the Tigers in the opening 40 minutes also told a story. Michael Cheika was growing animated on the sideline, all too aware that Bath are a side who like to turn the screw via their bench in the second half of games. The last time they had lost in the Premiership – sorry, Prem – after being ahead at the interval was in November 2023.
Bath had also scored more tries and conceded fewer than any other team in the league during the regular season, topping the table by 11 points. Only last month they beat Leicester 43-15 at the Rec but this was a final, with all the extra nerves and little uncertainties that inevitably brings.
But then came Russell's poach of Pollard's pass and the Tigers were suddenly 20-7 down. They needed fresh impetus and, bang on cue, out of the tunnel came Dan Cole and Ben Youngs, both playing their final games before retirement. Kata's 67th-minute try offered a glimmer of fairytale hope. Pollard had earlier dragged a penalty wide, but the loyal Cole was sent to the sin bin for crashing into Russell in the air and, despite Ilione's powerful surge, Leicester came up just short.