The Prem
Bath (17) 24
Tries: Du Toit 3, Cokanasiga Cons: Carreras 2
Leicester (17) 22
Tries: Bailey, Van Poortvliet, Pearson Cons: O’Connor 2 Pen: O’Connor
Bath held on to beat Leicester Tigers to secure second place in the Prem and set up a home semi-final against Exeter Chiefs next week.
Tigers’ defeat, coupled with Exeter’s win against Saracens, consigned them to a fourth-place finish in the table and meant they will travel to face league leaders and fierce near neighbours Northampton Saints in Friday’s first semi-final.
Orlando Bailey gave Tigers the ideal start with an early try, only for Bath to respond with two scores from Thomas du Toit and a third from Joe Cokanasiga.
A Jack van Poortvliet try for Leicester just before the break allowed Australian James O’Connor – who landed a crucial penalty earlier in the half – to convert and level the scores 17-17 at the interval.
Du Toit completed what was a decisive hat-trick after the break, with the game eventually decided by a missed conversion by Bailey after George Pearson went over for a last-gasp try for Tigers.
Bath: De Glanville; Cokanasiga, Lawrence, Ojomoh, Arundell; Carreras, Spencer (capt); Obano, Tuipulotu, Du Toit; Hill, Ewels, Bayliss, Underhill, Barbeary.
Replacements: Frost, Van Wyk, Sela, Molony, Richards, Carr-Smith, Redpath, Reid.
Sin-bin: Cokanasiga (77).
Leicester Tigers: Pearson; Radwan, Wand, Bailey, Hamer-Webb; O’Connor, Van Poortvliet; Smith, Blamire, Heyes; Henderson, Chessum (capt), Liebenberg, Reffell, Cracknell.
Replacements: Clare, Van der Flier, Hurd, Martin, Watson, Bemand, Kata, Perese.
Referee: Ian Tempest.
About the Author
