By P G Tips
May 3 2016
It will be “Time for a Tiger” when Leicester visit Bath this Saturday. The city of Leicester may have turned blue this week as the men from the King Power stadium celebrate their first ever football title, but the Tigers will not wish to be outfoxed by their neighbours. The visitors’ place in the playoffs is assured, but they will want a win to prepare for their semi final. In the unlikely event that Wasps slip up the Tigers could edge above them and avoid Saracens. The more probable case is that they will still finish fourth, but need the confidence boost of a good win before a trip to Allianz Park.
This year Leicester have made good the promise given by Richard Cockerill at last season’s end. Having reinforced the coaching team with Aaron Mauger they have played a much more expansive brand of rugby than has been the norm at Welford Road for the past two decades. The pack remains fearsome, if less of a contributor than usual to the England squad, but it is in the backs where most opponents see the main threat. The power and pace of Goneva and Tuilagi is now supported by the arcing breaks of Betham and Veainu while they can also call on the flair and direct running of stalwarts like Tait and Thompstone. Tigers have scored 51 tries this term, compared to only 37 in 2015- which was a more high scoring year for other clubs.
They will look to bring the same mix of power, tempo and tricks to the Rec as they have used in recent wins over Gloucester, Saints and Worcester Warriors. It looks as if they will be missing both Freddie Burns and Manu Tuilagi, but will still be able to call on the steadiness of Williams and thrust of Betham. No doubt they will be confident of avenging the heavy defeats they suffered at the Rec last year.
Bath, despite improvement against Tiger’s bitter East Midlands rivals last week, have less to be sanguine about. Only one victory against teams in the top half of the table tell the story of this disappointing season. Mafi has departed, seemingly under a cloud and further departures are rumoured. For many fans the season cannot end quickly enough. So-what hope do Bath have? They have rediscovered the tryline – principally by Rokodoguni, but also through Jeff Williams, while the back row are starting to make both the hard yards and the turnovers needed. Bath’s defence has been surprisingly good for a ninth placed team-only three other sides have conceded fewer tries, while Leicester have conceded more than six of their rivals. Bath’s hopes would seem to lie with the loose forwards and wings – they will need the front five to contest everything and make a mess of Leicester possession.
The final piece of the jjgsaw is motivation- there is a strong recent record of home success against Leicester, particularly late season on dry grounds. Bath must be prepared to give it a lash to be in with a shout. In Anthony Burgess’s novel “Time for a Tiger” the central theme is the colonial policeman hero’s love affair with the beer advertised with that slogan. If both teams bring their best form, this could be an intoxicating encounter: but who will be drunk with success at the end?
Possible Teams;
Bath: Auterac. Webber, Wilson, Ewels, Attwood, Garvey, Louw, (capt) Denton,. Homer, Priestland. Banahan, Devoto, Joseph, Rokodoguni, Watson.
Replacements: Catt, Dunn, Lahiff, Garvey, Houston. Cook, Ford. Williams.
Leicester Tigers: Ayerza, Ghiraldini, Cole, , Barrow, Kitchener, Slater (capt), McCaffrey, Fonua. Youngs, Williams. Thompstone, Betham, Tait, Goneva; Veainu;
Replacements: Bateman, Genge, Balmain Croft, Evans, Harrison, Bell, Smith.
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