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Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Bath battle past Leicester Tigers in gripping Premiership final to end 29-year wait for domestic title
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.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bath end 29-year wait for Premiership title
Bath won 14 of their 18 matches during the regular season to finish top [Getty Images] Gallagher Premiership final Bath (13) 23 Tries: Du Toit, Ojomoh Cons: Russell 2 Pens: Russell 3 Leicester (7) 21 Tries: Van Poortvliet, Kata, Ilione Cons: Pollard 3 Bath held off resilient Leicester Tigers to win their first Premiership title in 29 years with a narrow 23-21 victory at Allianz Stadium Twickenham that also clinched a 2024-25 treble. The tense triumph crowns Bath as champions of England for the seventh time in their history but the first since 1996. Advertisement They were the trailblazing team in the league this season and went into the final as overwhelming favourites after finishing 11 points clear at the top of the table. Jack van Poortvliet gave Leicester an early lead but Thomas du Toit's try and another from Max Ojomah - created by Finn Russell's show-stopping interception - pushed Bath 13 points ahead. Solomone Kata pulled back a crucial try for the Tigers but when departing Leicester legend Dan Cole was sent to the sin-bin with 11 minutes to go, Russell slotted a second penalty. Tigers still had something in the tank and Emeka Ilione's score five minutes from time set up a grandstand finish but Bath held on. Advertisement Bath also become the first English team since opponents Leicester in 2001 to seal a treble, after winning the Premiership Rugby Cup and the European Challenge Cup earlier this season. The final was billed as a revival of the rivalry between two giants of English rugby. The pair won 12 of the first 15 Premiership titles under the league's previous format and finished as the top two in each of 1994, 1995, 1996 and 2000. Despite their underdog status, Leicester started more than up for the fight, owning possession in the opening minutes, winning two scrums and the first penalty, allowing Handre Pollard to kick to the corner. Advertisement Their pack mauled forward from a line-out and an opportunist Van Poortvliet saw a gap to sneak in. Russell eased Bath nerves with a penalty but neither side could get into their flow in the midst of a stuttering start. Bath eventually ramped up the pressure, probing Leicester's line from the left then right as their forwards picked up the mantle and Du Toit surged over. And when Leicester skipper Julian Montoya was shown a yellow for a high tackle on Ted Hill his side were forced into defensive mode to see out the half. Tigers wing Adam Radwan held Miles Reid up over the line as Bath pushed for more but Russell kicked a second penalty from distance to make it 13-7 at half-time. Bath last won a league title in 1996 but have ended 2024-25 with a treble [PA Media] Leicester have a host of players departing the club this summer including Pollard, who missed a penalty and then saw a pass intercepted by a surging Russell, who sprinted clear when Leicester were enjoying a spell with the ball. Advertisement With Ojomah keeping pace with the Scot on the break, Russell spun a looping pass for his team-mate to dive under the posts. Guy Pepper's brilliant strength to shake off two tacklers and touch down in the corner almost stretched Bath's lead further only for the score to be scratched for a knock-on by Will Muir. Tigers seemed spurred on by the let-off and Kata pulled them back into it from close range. There was still time for more twists as, minutes after coming on for his final appearance before retirement, Cole was sent to the bin for a charging tackle on Russell whose subsequent penalty made it 23-14. Advertisement Leicester would not lie down though and Ilione wrestled his way through the Bath bodies to set up a thrilling finale that Johann van Graan's side managed to see out. More to follow. Bath: De Glanville; Cokanasiga, Ojomoh, Redpath, Muir; Russell, Spencer (c); Obano, Dunn, Du Toit; Roux, Ewels, Hill, Pepper, Reid. Replacements: Annett, Van Wyk, Stuart, Molony, Bayliss, Carr-Smith, Donoghue, Barbeary. Leicester: Steward; Radwan, Kata, Woodward, Hassell-Collins; Pollard, Van Poortvliet; Smith, Montoya (c), Heyes; Henderson, Chessum, Liebenberg, Reffell, Cracknell. Replacements: Clare, Cronin, Cole, Rogerson, Ilione, Youngs, Volavola, Perese. Advertisement Sin bin: Montoya (28 mins), Cole (69 mins) Referee: Karl Dickson
