An epic day for the Tykes. Bath, whose record in senior Cup finals prior to this read played 10, won 10, were well placed in the Premiership and bristling with intent after seeing off Harlequins, Sale and bitter local rivals Gloucester to secure yet another outing to Twickenham.
Leeds, meanwhile, had been embroiled in a relegation battle and all the talk ahead of this final – the last of the traditional kind before a new Anglo-Welsh format was adopted – was of how many points Bath would put on a side in danger of sliding into National One.
The Yorkshiremen were having none of it, though, and after seeing off Northampton and London Irish, they arrived at HQ with a puncher’s chance of upsetting the odds. What’s more, they had suddenly hit form with back-to-back league wins over Leicester and Gloucester.
Director of rugby Phil Davies, now in charge of Cardiff Blues, recalls: “We’d started the season well but had a few injuries in the middle and dropped down the table. The pressure was on a bit, but the Cup run really galvanised everybody and gave us a bit of focus outside the league.
“There was a lot of stuff going on around the future of the Powergen Cup and whether we’d be able to play in the Heineken Cup if we won it and then got relegated, but it was great testimony to all the players and coaching staff that we stayed focused and got on with the job.
“We had a lot of respect for Bath, they’d been a great cup side down the years, but we didn’t really think about that as we were too busy worrying about ourselves.”
Davies made a big call on the day, leaving out experienced wing Diego Albanese in favour of 20-year-old academy starlet Tom Biggs. The youngster didn’t let him down, producing a virtuoso display as the Yorkshire outfit, roared on by 15,500 travelling fans, tore into Bath.
Leeds shrugged off the early loss of captain, Iain Balshaw, and although Bath enjoyed oceans of possession, it was the Yorkshire outfit, inspired by Biggs, who provided the precision through first-half tries from Chris Bell and experienced Springbok international, Andre Snyman.
Davies says: “It was a big decision to start Biggsy in the final because Albanese had played well the previous week, but Tom played particularly well that day.
“As it happened, Diego came on early after Balshaw got injured, which was a shame for Iain because he was captain that day, but it was a great day all round.
“We’d changed the team around that year and we had some young up-and-coming players in the side, like Stuart Hooper and Tom Palmer, alongside experienced campaigners like Mark Regan and Mike Shelley.
“Alan Dickens and Gordon Ross were a good pair of half-backs and we had good backs in Snyman, Balshaw, Bell and Biggs. All in all, I’d say we were a pretty good side.”
Too hot for Bath, in fact, who looked well below par and blew chance after chance to score, much to the chagrin of their highly critical, success-starved fans. And it was fitting that Shelley, a Leeds legend, should help lift the trophy at the end.
Davies says: “It was a fantastic moment for Leeds and the culmination of about eight or nine years of hard work. When I went there in 1996 the aim was to try and win a major trophy and play Heineken Cup rugby … and we achieved both of those things.
“As a coach, it was one of the most exciting days in my career. To go to Twickenham and contest a major final in front of 60,000 people was terrific. Then to win it and gain qualification for the Heineken Cup was pretty special for a club of Leeds’ standing.”
The fairytale was completed when Leeds defeated Harlequins and Bath to finish eighth in the Premiership. “There was lots to be proud about that season and, all in all, it was a pretty positive 10 years I had at Leeds,” Davies added.
Where are they now: Leeds’ boys of 2005
1. Mike Shelley: Called time on his playing career in 2006, moved to Canada and is now national academy manager/U20 head coach at Rugby Canada and head coach at Wolf Pack Rugby.
2. Mark Regan: Joined Bristol that summer and came out of international retirement to play for England at the 2007 World Cup. Now coaches Clifton and is an after-dinner speaker.
3. Gavin Kerr: Moved to Edinburgh in 2006, then Sale in 2009, but was forced to retire through injury in 2010. Now an assistant buildings surveyor in Edinburgh.
4. Stuart Hooper: Joined Bath in 2008, where he was captain last season.
5. Tom Palmer: Moved to Wasps in 2006, then Stade Francais in 2009. Played for England at the 2011 World Cup and is currently in South Africa. Rejoins Wasps next month.
6. Scott Morgan: Joined Cardiff in 2006, then Newport Gwent Dragons in 2010.
7. Richard Parks: Played for Perpignan in 2006/7, then joined Newport, but was forced to retire in 2009. Remarkably, went on to climb Everest and complete the ‘737 Challenge’.
8. Alix Popham: Joined Scarlets that summer, but then moved to France where he plays for Brive.
9. Alan Dickens: Moved to Saracens that summer before joining Northampton in 2008. Retired from playing two years ago and is now academy manager at Saints.
10. Gordon Ross: Joined Castres for one season in 2006/7 before playing two seasons for Saracens. Moved to London Welsh in 2009 and was pivotal in their recent Championship success.
11. Tom Biggs: Moved to Newcastle for a season in 2009 before becoming a crowd favourite at, of all places … Bath!
12. Chris Bell: Joined Sale in 2006 before moving to Wasps in 2011. Hoping for fresh start after injury-hit season.
13. Phil Christophers: An unfulfilled talent, he joined Castres that summer where he played until 2011. Spent last season playing for Pays d’Aix in Pro D2.
14. Andre Snyman: Called it a day in 2007 after a season at Perpignan. He currently serves as a coach of the Glendale Raptors in the United States
15. Iain Balshaw: Joined Gloucester in 2006, where he spent three years before moving to Biarritz.
Replacements:
Diego Albanese (for Balshaw, 3mins): Returned to Argentina in 2005, where he played for SIC before retiring a year later. Now a life planner/business insurance specialist.
Craig McMullen (for Christophers, 27): Went on to play for Clermont Auvergne, Harlequins, Saracens and GRAN Parma and is now a sports consultant for Aspire Management.
Rob Rawlinson (for Regan, 73): Left Leeds in 2010 after his testimonial season and now coaches rugby at Queen Ethelburga’s College in York.
Matt Holt (for Kerr, 60): Returned to Caldy RFC, where he was head coach until 2010. Now managing director of Just4Rugby.com.
Dan Hyde (for Parks, 60): Joined Otley in 2007, then was player-coach at Huddersfield before becoming head coach last year.
Jon Dunbar (for Popham, 69): Joined Italian outfit GRAN Parma in 2009, where he played for two seasons before retiring. Now coaches at West Park Leeds.
Pingback: magic mushrooms buy online