Bath Premiership Champion: Beats Leicester and Breaks 29-Year Drought

Bath Conquers English Title After 29 Years of Drought

Bath broke a 29-year drought without English titles by defeating their old rival Leicester in an exciting Premiership final, with a score of 23-21. The match, played at Allianz Stadium Twickenham on Saturday, marked the close of a memorable season for Bath, who achieved a treble of trophies. Thomas du Toit and Max Ojomoh’s tries were key to Bath taking a significant lead in the second half. However, Leicester, seeking their 12th title, responded with scores from Solomone Kata and Emeka Ilione, leading to an electrifying finish. Bath, who had lost a similarly tight match against Northampton the previous year, managed to hold onto the lead and secure the victory. This achievement completes a historic treble, adding the Premiership Cup and the European Challenge Cup to their record, a feat not seen since their league and cup double in 1996. In the first final clash between the teams that dominated English rugby for two decades, Leicester showed an aggressive game from the start, and Jack van Poortvliet scored after a powerful maul, putting his team ahead five minutes into the game.

Bath reacted with an excellent play that culminated in Du Toit’s try, converted by Finn Russell. Russell added a 50-meter penalty, giving his team a 13-7 lead at halftime. Handre Pollard had a difficult moment, missing a penalty and then losing an intercepted pass by Russell. The Scottish international, instead of scoring, assisted Ojomoh, who scored under the posts, seeming to secure the match. Bath flanker Guy Pepper thought he had scored a spectacular try, but the TMO disallowed it for a knock-on. Leicester, taking advantage of the opportunity, launched a series of attacks that culminated in Kata’s try, leaving his team only six points behind with 12 minutes remaining. Leicester’s hopes were hit when Dan Cole was shown a yellow card for a foul on Russell. Russell converted the resulting penalty, but Leicester came back, and Ilione scored a try which, after Pollard’s conversion, left the score at two points with three minutes to play. Unlike the previous year, when Bath fell short against Northampton, this time the team that had finished in last place in the league three years ago held on to achieve a victory that crowned an exceptional season.