THE concept of ‘The Clash’ appeals to me, with an expected crowd of 60,000 at Twickenham to watch Bath against Leicester a testament to the staunch support still commanded by two clubs who were giants of the English game.
They are not quite on that pedestal these days, with Saracens having stolen their thunder and both clubs still in transition after multiple changes of coaches and players.
Leicester and Bath have had titanic battles in the past – including cup finals at Twickenham which I was lucky enough to have played in and finished on the winning side. However, in the modern era Leicester have been on top more often than not, despite a couple of decent Bath results.
This time when they meet neither team will be fully loaded and at their premium best, but which of them improves enough to come out on top could have a big influence on the Premiership run-in by claiming fourth place – and a semi-final.
That said, I would not hold out much chance of either of these Leicester or Bath teams challenging for the title by getting a semi-final result at Wasps. The reality is that both teams are really looking at a top six finish to get them into Europe next season – and if I was the coach of either of them I'd rather the season ended a game early so you could start preparing for the next campaign.
Leicester still have among the most solid foundations in the English and European game. They have the stadium, the support, the tradition and history, and let’s not forget many clubs would love to be in the position they are in. Fourth in the league and an AngloWelsh Cup title may not be good enough for the Tigers – with Richard Cockerill and Aaron Mauger being shown the door – but that would be an enviable position for many other clubs.
Denne historien er fra April 02,2017-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
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Denne historien er fra April 02,2017-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
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