An historic head-to-head which has seen some epic battles over the years, the last 10 matches at the Rec between Bath Rugby and Leicester Tigers have seen 460 points scored.
The Blue, Black and Whites have been on the winning on seven of those occasions with an average of 27.2 points scored per game while Tigers’ average is 18.8 points per game.
In that period, Anthony Watson and Semesa Rokoduguni have both crossed three times with Jonathan Joseph on the scoresheet twice. George Ford has enjoyed success with Bath and Leicester in this fixture, accumulating 62 points in a Bath shirt to his 20 as a Tiger.
The two teams will be eyeing an opportunity to make the top four with eight regular games remaining the Gallagher Premiership.
One point separates the old rivals in the table and a win for either will be a massive boost for the respective play-off push.
Stuart Hooper and Steve Borthwick also have a European final in their sights with the former leading Bath to a quarter-final victory over London Irish last time out while the latter’s Tigers progressed with a win against Newcastle Falcons.
Bath’s up-front dominance has shone of late and Director of Rugby Hooper says his players are relishing coming up against Leicester’s physicality.
“There is a big challenge coming up,” he said.
“Some of our big fellas are looking forward to going toe-to-toe with theirs and I think it’s going to be a pretty exciting game for many reasons.”
MATCH DETAILS
Date: 18 April 2021
Kick-off: 15:00
Competition: Gallagher Premiership
Where: The Recreation Ground
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistants: Simon Harding and Jonathan Healy
TMO: Rowan Kitt
Citing Commissioner: Duncan Bell
Media Coverage: BT Sport 3
LEICESTER TIGERS CURRENT FORM
(WLWWW)
Leicester Tigers 39-15 Newcastle Falcons | Challenge Cup
Leicester Tigers 48-32 Connacht | Challenge Cup
Leicester Tigers 26-12 Newcastle Falcons | Gallagher Premiership
Exeter Chiefs 47-31 Leicester Tigers | Gallagher Premiership
Gloucester 14-20 Leicester Tigers | Gallagher Premiership
A REC CLASSIC
England fly-half hopeful George Ford inspired a Bath Rugby romp at the Recreation Ground as hapless Leicester Tigers were ruthlessly battered into submission.
Premiership clashes between two traditional heavyweights of the English game tend to go the distance, but this latest bout proved a no-contest inside 40 minutes as Bath raced more clear before finishing Tigers off by a remarkable 45-0.
Ford kicked 20 points from three penalties, a drop-goal and four conversions, while Semesa Rokoduguni, Jonathan Joseph, Kyle Eastmond, Olly Woodburn and Peter Stringer scored tries to leave Leicester reeling from one of their biggest beatings in Premiership history, and only the second time they have failed to score a point.
