Bath battle past Leicester Tigers in gripping Premiership final to end 29-year wait for domestic title

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Finally, after 29 years of disappointment, three decades of dust, a generation of expensive mistakes, Bath have their moment. They wore cotton jerseys when they last won the Premiership in 1996. Steve Ojomoh was in the team and his son Max, who fittingly scored the decisive try here at Twickenham, was not even born.
No wonder there were tears when Finn Russell kicked out the ball for full-time. No wonder the players turned to prayers or parents or whoever else had helped them keep their faith when it looked like it might never happen. The photographs from 1996 have long faded but now his re-born club have new timeless heroes.
The 2024-25 campaign has its rightful champions. Bath have set the standard through every round but they had to hold off a Leicester team with the fight of a mongrel. It was a scrap until the final play but the outcome always felt like the season's destiny.
With his tailored jackets and thick cheque book, Bath's owner Bruce Craig has spent years vying for this trophy. Cash has been thrown at the likes of Gavin Henson, Danny Cipriani and Sam Burgess. Now, guided by the magical hand of Russell, he has found the winning formula.
Russell will become a hall-of-fame rugby player but his talent has always been undermined by his lack of trophies. Here he delivered a performance that surely sets him clear as the playmaker who should start for the Lions when they land in Australia next week.
There were nerves in Bath's performance, of course. Expectations were high as West London felt like the West Country. They dropped balls and flirted with a gritty Leicester fightback but came through thanks to a couple of incisive moments of attack.
Bath have taken a few beatings from Leicester over the years. Remember the day Nick Abendanon was bashed up by the Tuilagi brothers? But here their pack held strong against Leicester's gnarly forwards, leaving Michael Cheika spewing that his team were not given more at the scrum by the referee.
The penalty count was seven to one at half-time, in Bath's favour, meaning Leicester had little of the territory. 'We got nothing back from the referee at all,' blasted Cheika.
This time last year, the boot was on the other foot. Bath prop Beno Obano was sent off in defeat in the final. Here, his face appeared on the big screen as Handre Pollard lined up the kick-off. Obano smiled in the face of danger.
From the start, Leicester were happy to set up caterpillar rucks. Slow things down, chase points rather than hearts. Nicky Smith won the first penalty at the scrum and up stepped Handre Pollard. The South African was signed for these kind of moments. His legacy at the club would hinge on grand final outcomes and the early signs were good.
Most 10s may play safe and land their kick on the 22 but Pollard landed his five metres from the try line. Hanro Liebenberg claimed the lineout and mauled forward inch by inch. Joe Heyes flew in to add a late shove, allowing Jack van Poortvliet to score the opening try.
Knowing Will Muir is Bath's preferred kick chaser, Leicester's entire pack pointed at him on the restarts. They marked him closely but Bath's back-three won the battle of the skies. There were dropped balls as Bath tried to fight back and they found their rhythm after Russell kicked his first penalty.
When they attacked in motion, Bath flowed around the edges of Leicester's committed defence, keeping the ball alive. Obano, on his avenger mission, carried hard before his fellow prop Thomas du Toit barrelled over to score. Julian Montoya was sin-binned for a high tackle on Ted Hill, before conceding another penalty at the breakdown. It allowed Russell to kick Bath to a 13-7 lead at the break.
Pollard missed a penalty after the break and moments later his pass was intercepted by Russell, who sprinted clear before setting up Ojomoh to apply the scoring touch.
Bath seemed home and dry when Max Pepper scored, but his try was ruled out and Leicetser fought back, with Dan Cole and Ben Youngs unloaded from the bench for one final time. Solomone Kata scored from close range but a yellow card for Cole stunted their fightback.
Russell kicked a penalty and Emeka Illione scored to set up a tense finale, but this was a day that belonged to Bath.