Bath vs Leicester Tigers: Big Premiership Final Preview

Bath face Leicester Tigers at Twickenham to decide the winner of the 2024/25 Gallagher Premiership season. 

The Blue, Black and Whites have the opportunity to win a rare rugby treble, having already won the Prem Rugby Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup this season. 

It could also represent their first title in the play-off era, with them last winning a league title in 1996. 

In many ways, this final is to be expected given that it is between the two teams that finished first and second in the regular season. 

Whatever happens on the day, it will be a great battle between two of the best teams in the league this season. 

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Path to the final 

Bath ended the campaign as table-toppers following a dominant campaign in which they were head and shoulders above everyone else. 

Meanwhile, Tigers stayed well within a pack of a few teams hunting the play-offs and finished their season with a flourish to secure a home semi-final. 

That home semi paid off for Leicester, who saw off a very strong Sale Sharks side 21-16 in a cagey encounter at Welford Road. 

The game was characterised by a strong pack for the hosts that outperformed Sale in the set piece, with a couple of moments of magic for tries, such as Adam Radwan’s Superman-esque score. 

Bath hosted Bristol Bears at The Rec, with the Bears being the only side in the regular season to have won a league game at the ground. 

The visitors came out strong and competed for large portions of the game, but in the end, Bath’s quality showed, and they ran out relatively comfortable 34-20 winners on the night. 

It was an electric atmosphere and a real statement from the Blue, Black and Whites who really dug deep to secure their place in the final. 

History of the two sides 

For a while now, there has been a rivalry between Bath and Tigers, both on and off the pitch. 

It has historically been one of the most anticipated games of the season and one which has been described as a huge derby in rugby, despite the geographical split between the two places. 

Those of a certain vintage will remember the mid-90s and the three seasons in a row that saw Bath and Leicester finish in the top two of the table, Bath winning two titles and Leicester one in this period between 1993 and 1996. 

This will be the first time that these two teams will play each other in a Premiership final, since the play-offs were introduced in 2002. 

Since then, Tigers have won five titles and Bath are yet to win their maiden play-off, losing three finals in the process. 

It gives the side a chance to right some wrongs from last season, in which they fell at the final hurdle at Twickenham against Northampton Saints. 

The most recent title for Tigers came in the 2021/22 season, where they beat Saracens 15-12 to win their 11^th total Premiership, including when the prize was awarded to the league winners. 

That makes the East Midlands club the most successful in the league, and this final gives them a chance to extend their lead at the top of the table. 

Key talking points 

All of the noise surrounding the Tigers is around the players who are leaving the club following the conclusion of this match.

Captain Julian Montoya, stalwarts Ben Youngs and Dan Cole, double World Cup winning fly-half Handre Pollard, and Michael Cheika will all leave the club after this game. 

Given the huge turnover next season, this could be the last proper chance at a title for a little while. 

The added motivation of those departing may provide an extra spark for the underdogs in this game. 

As mentioned, Bath haven’t won a Premiership in the play-off era and, despite their dominance in the regular season, may struggle to rise to the occasion. 

It will be two teams that are physically strong but also have quality in the backs to be dangerous and both are pretty evenly matched on paper.  

Head-to-head 

Earlier on this season, Bath beat Tigers at Welford Road 20-15 in what was a relatively unremarkable affair. The hosts made plenty of mistakes, and the visitors capitalised and it was by no means a classic. 

Recently, at The Rec, it was a different story. Bath breezed past their visitors and came out with a 43-15 win that marked their biggest win over Leicester in a decade. 

With this result fresh in everyone’s minds, it will give Bath plenty of confidence going into the final and Tigers a lot to be concerned about. 

Where the game will be won/lost 

As is the case with finals, it will likely be decided by which team can make the fewest mistakes. 

Players tend to keep things simple and not necessarily be as flashy as they usually would be, making many games like this turn out to be cagey affairs. 

Given that Bath already has a Prem Rugby Cup and a Challenge Cup in their trophy cabinet from this season, this group of players clearly knows how to win. 

They are known as the most physical side in the league and have lots of depth in the forwards, often utilising their ‘Bomb Squad’ of forwards that come off the bench and make a huge impact. 

If Tigers can match-up physically, then they are winning half of the battle. 

There is plenty of experience in the Leicester ranks, and that could prove to be the difference if the old guard are to use their know-how against a slightly more inexperienced Bath side. 

Finals are often about fine margins, and it will be a tale of whether Bath can right their wrongs from last year. 

Key matchups 

There is going to be heaps of quality across the pitch, but a couple of matchups stand above the rest as being key battles. 

Ted Hill v Hanro Liebenberg 

In the back row, one of the best athletes in the Prem will go up against one of the in-form players across the whole season. 

Hill is widely regarded as being the best athlete in the entire Bath team, including the backs and is both extremely fast but also hugely powerful. 

Liebenberg may not be as quick as Hill, but he is extremely powerful and an elite ball carrier who has been a brilliant player for the Tigers this season. 

The South African is an all-around great player and can do it on both sides of the ball, in similar fashion to Hill. 

Finn Russell v Handre Pollard 

In terms of fly-halves, it doesn’t get much more competitive than this. 

Pollard is widely described as being one of the best big game players in the world, having been part of two World Cup wins with the Springboks. 

Meanwhile, Russell’s quality is difficult to match, and the British and Irish Lion is one of the most exciting players in his position. 

Both are outstanding with their boot, possess immense playmaking abilities and have a huge amount of game intelligence. 

Although a lot of the focus regarding this game will be on the forwards, both teams will need their number tens to deliver some solid playmaking when called upon. 

Watch the Premiership Rugby Final live on TNT Sports 1 and discovery+ from 1.30pm this Saturday.

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