Watson strikes twice to sink Tigers
'The Clash' at Twickenham. As a Bath supporter this has been over all over my social media feed and email content over the past 6 months. The Bath marketing department must have been given a sizeable budget from messrs Craig and Dyson to promote the club's first of five annual fixtures at HQ! It certainly paid off with 61,868 supporters packing out the home of English rugby on a glorious Spring day.
There's been no love lost between Leicester and Bath over the years, especially in the early 90's when the two clubs dominated the English league, but recent times has seen the likes of Wasps and Saracens start to stretch away from the rest. That being said, this game certainly had a 'clash' written all over it, with just one league place between them and Leicester occupying the all important 4th play play off spot that Bath have occupied for most of the season. In the circumstances, many Bath supporters were right to worry about losing their 'home advantage' at the crucial business end of the season, by taking this fixture to South West London. Their worries would have been blown away when they entered the arena, as the stadium was covered in blue, black and white creating a tremendous atmosphere.
Whilst there were tiny pockets of Tigers supporters dotted around the stands, they were the ones with cause to cheer, as Leicester scored two early tries through Brendon O'Connor and Telusa Veainu. The first started from a flat fizzing pass from soon to return Bath boy Freddie Burns, as the ball was worked out wide to flanker O'Connor who side stepped Matt Banahan far too easily. Jonathan Joseph then found himself isolated in the outside channel and from the resulting turnover, full back Veainu cleverly spotted that there were no Bath players sweeping behind. He chipped ahead into the open field and out sprinted both Banahan and Joseph to dot down in the corner. Again Banahan's lack of match fitness was exposed as he never looked like winning the foot race. It was also a poor 30 seconds for JJ as he found himself turned over and then showed no real determination or will to chase back and beat Veainu to the ball.
A disastrous start for the travelling west country supporters, but Bath soon got back into their stride with Ford floating one of his trademark cut out passes over the heads of the Leicester defenders, into the hands of Joseph, who trotted in unopposed. Ford has received a fair bit of flak from his home supporters since the announcement of his move to Welford Road next season, but he repaid them with an assured and controlled performance. The often erratic and shaky goal kicking was no where to be seen as he nailed 3 conversions and 2 penalties. Certainly encouraging for Todd Blackadder and his coaches as we move into the final run in.
Leicester held on for a 15-10 half time lead and Bath would have taken confidence from not letting the early blip develop into something worse.
The second half was dominated by the boots of Burns and Ford as they exchanged penalties which left Bath trailing 21-13 with just 14 minutes left to play. In pressure moments like this you need your big name players to step up and justify why they demand the big bucks. Talupe Faletau is certainly one of those men, realising it was time to strike, as he took a short ball off Joseph. He pierced through the Tiger's defence busting through one tackle and linked up with Anthony Watson who anticipated the number 8's line break to score.
Bath now had the bit within their teeth, making further in roads up the field. The ball was worked along the line to Banahan, who picked a line back inside drawing in two Leicester players. The sheer size of the Bath winger at full tilt automatically demands attention and with his opposing defenders bracing themselves to make their tackles, he pulled a rabbit out of the hat by throwing an audacious no look pass over his left shoulder to Watson, who'd all the time been looping around. When the flying full back took the pass with clear green grass in front of him, there was no stopping him as Bath took the lead. It proved to be a manic few minutes with Bath the beneficiaries, as before the Watson try the Tigers only had a slim one point lead and JP Pietersen had just been sent to the sin bin for a deliberate knock down.
The drama didn't end there as Leicester forced a penalty with only a minute left on the clock and a chance to pump the ball into the corner for a lineout 10 metres out. Bath would surely have to endure one last onslaught of pressure, but Semesa Rokoduguni had other ideas as he plucked the ball out of the air like a ballerina, denying Leicester the lineout as he carried the ball back upfield. Bath kept the ball for a few more phases and Ford sent the ball into row Z and the game was over. What a crucial intervention that proved to be from Rokoduguni after a relatively quiet game by his standards!
View from the Bath stands
With my Bath supporters hat on, it was encouraging to see the big name players really put their hands up when it mattered and with Lions place at stake they should need no encouragement. I mentioned JJ's mistake in the lead up to Veainu's try, but his distribution skills really stood out for me on Saturday. He plays like an extra 10, often popping up at first receiver dictating play and helping out Ford. Add to this his clear attacking talents and his now reliable defence and you have an outside centre who surely demands that famous red jersey. I've already mentioned big name players delivering under pressure and you have two clear examples from JJ. The delayed pass to put Faletau through the hole and the long pass out to Banahan were both key in setting up Watson's two tries which ultimately won the game for Bath. Talupe Faletau was everywhere, he looked hungry for work and deservedly won the man of the match award. If he continues this run of form he has surely booked his plane ticket to New Zealand. Finally a word about a player who has slipped under the radar who I think has been superb since he's moved over from Australia. Ben Tapuai has really impressed with his passing and kicking game, but he's also shown good aggressive ball carrying in that 12 channel, which perhaps he doesn't get enough credit for. Just take a look at his hard line carry off Ford in the build up to Watson's second try. It gave the team the required go forward and platform to play off, resulting in a try out wide to win the game.
All in all a tense and entertaining game of rugby and although Bath were victorious, the losing bonus point proved crucial for Leicester as they still occupy that 4th spot, but only by the skin of their teeth on overall points difference. The last 3 games are now crucial for both sides in their bids for play off rugby!
There's been no love lost between Leicester and Bath over the years, especially in the early 90's when the two clubs dominated the English league, but recent times has seen the likes of Wasps and Saracens start to stretch away from the rest. That being said, this game certainly had a 'clash' written all over it, with just one league place between them and Leicester occupying the all important 4th play play off spot that Bath have occupied for most of the season. In the circumstances, many Bath supporters were right to worry about losing their 'home advantage' at the crucial business end of the season, by taking this fixture to South West London. Their worries would have been blown away when they entered the arena, as the stadium was covered in blue, black and white creating a tremendous atmosphere.
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| Watson scored the winning try for Bath |
Whilst there were tiny pockets of Tigers supporters dotted around the stands, they were the ones with cause to cheer, as Leicester scored two early tries through Brendon O'Connor and Telusa Veainu. The first started from a flat fizzing pass from soon to return Bath boy Freddie Burns, as the ball was worked out wide to flanker O'Connor who side stepped Matt Banahan far too easily. Jonathan Joseph then found himself isolated in the outside channel and from the resulting turnover, full back Veainu cleverly spotted that there were no Bath players sweeping behind. He chipped ahead into the open field and out sprinted both Banahan and Joseph to dot down in the corner. Again Banahan's lack of match fitness was exposed as he never looked like winning the foot race. It was also a poor 30 seconds for JJ as he found himself turned over and then showed no real determination or will to chase back and beat Veainu to the ball.
A disastrous start for the travelling west country supporters, but Bath soon got back into their stride with Ford floating one of his trademark cut out passes over the heads of the Leicester defenders, into the hands of Joseph, who trotted in unopposed. Ford has received a fair bit of flak from his home supporters since the announcement of his move to Welford Road next season, but he repaid them with an assured and controlled performance. The often erratic and shaky goal kicking was no where to be seen as he nailed 3 conversions and 2 penalties. Certainly encouraging for Todd Blackadder and his coaches as we move into the final run in.
Leicester held on for a 15-10 half time lead and Bath would have taken confidence from not letting the early blip develop into something worse.
The second half was dominated by the boots of Burns and Ford as they exchanged penalties which left Bath trailing 21-13 with just 14 minutes left to play. In pressure moments like this you need your big name players to step up and justify why they demand the big bucks. Talupe Faletau is certainly one of those men, realising it was time to strike, as he took a short ball off Joseph. He pierced through the Tiger's defence busting through one tackle and linked up with Anthony Watson who anticipated the number 8's line break to score.
Bath now had the bit within their teeth, making further in roads up the field. The ball was worked along the line to Banahan, who picked a line back inside drawing in two Leicester players. The sheer size of the Bath winger at full tilt automatically demands attention and with his opposing defenders bracing themselves to make their tackles, he pulled a rabbit out of the hat by throwing an audacious no look pass over his left shoulder to Watson, who'd all the time been looping around. When the flying full back took the pass with clear green grass in front of him, there was no stopping him as Bath took the lead. It proved to be a manic few minutes with Bath the beneficiaries, as before the Watson try the Tigers only had a slim one point lead and JP Pietersen had just been sent to the sin bin for a deliberate knock down.
The drama didn't end there as Leicester forced a penalty with only a minute left on the clock and a chance to pump the ball into the corner for a lineout 10 metres out. Bath would surely have to endure one last onslaught of pressure, but Semesa Rokoduguni had other ideas as he plucked the ball out of the air like a ballerina, denying Leicester the lineout as he carried the ball back upfield. Bath kept the ball for a few more phases and Ford sent the ball into row Z and the game was over. What a crucial intervention that proved to be from Rokoduguni after a relatively quiet game by his standards!
View from the Bath stands
With my Bath supporters hat on, it was encouraging to see the big name players really put their hands up when it mattered and with Lions place at stake they should need no encouragement. I mentioned JJ's mistake in the lead up to Veainu's try, but his distribution skills really stood out for me on Saturday. He plays like an extra 10, often popping up at first receiver dictating play and helping out Ford. Add to this his clear attacking talents and his now reliable defence and you have an outside centre who surely demands that famous red jersey. I've already mentioned big name players delivering under pressure and you have two clear examples from JJ. The delayed pass to put Faletau through the hole and the long pass out to Banahan were both key in setting up Watson's two tries which ultimately won the game for Bath. Talupe Faletau was everywhere, he looked hungry for work and deservedly won the man of the match award. If he continues this run of form he has surely booked his plane ticket to New Zealand. Finally a word about a player who has slipped under the radar who I think has been superb since he's moved over from Australia. Ben Tapuai has really impressed with his passing and kicking game, but he's also shown good aggressive ball carrying in that 12 channel, which perhaps he doesn't get enough credit for. Just take a look at his hard line carry off Ford in the build up to Watson's second try. It gave the team the required go forward and platform to play off, resulting in a try out wide to win the game.
All in all a tense and entertaining game of rugby and although Bath were victorious, the losing bonus point proved crucial for Leicester as they still occupy that 4th spot, but only by the skin of their teeth on overall points difference. The last 3 games are now crucial for both sides in their bids for play off rugby!
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