Joy for ex-Munster coach Van Graan as Bath complete treble
Victory completed a treble for Bath after lifting the Premiership Rugby Cup and European Challenge Cup and rounded off a dominant season in which they finished runaway leaders in the Premiership table.
Tries from Thomas Du Toit and Max Ojomoh, plus 13 points from the boot of Finn Russel,l edged Bath over the line despite a spirited fightback from the Tigers.
Leicester outscored their opponents by three tries to two but left themselves a mountain to climb at 20-7 down with just over 10 minutes to go.
Despite a 29-year wait to become champions, Bath were strong favourites after finishing 11 points clear of second-placed Leicester in the table and winning 43-15 when the two sides met just four weeks ago.
However, nerves got the better of the west country side early on and Leicester took advantage to score first when Jack van Poortvliet touched down after a driving maul carried the Tigers towards the Bath line.
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Russell was wayward from the tee in his last visit to Twickenham, which cost Scotland the Calcutta Cup against England in the Six Nations back in February.
But the mercurial number 10 was back to his best before jetting off to join the British and Irish Lions tour.
Russell immediately reduced the arrears with a penalty before Du Toit barrelled his way over to give Bath the lead.
Another Russell penalty with the last kick of the first half was scant reward for Bath's dominance as Leicester survived unscathed from Julian Montoya's 10 minutes in the sin bin.
A moment of magic from Russell proved to be decisive when he intercepted Handre Pollard's pass midway inside his own half and galloped within sight of the line before flinging the ball inside for Ojomah to walk in between the posts.
Guy Pepper had another score for Bath ruled out by a video review for a knock-on as they threatened to run riot.
Instead, they were made to survive a nerve-shredding few seconds after an unlikely Leicester fightback.
Solomone Kata touched down and Pollard converted to reduce the deficit to six.
Another Russell penalty edged out Bath's advantage once more before remarkable strength from Emeka Ilione to cross the line and a Pollard conversion cut the gap to two points.
Bath, though, held out to cap a remarkable return to the top of the English game for a sleeping giant under South African coach Johaan van Graan.
Just three years ago they finished bottom of the Premiership.
After missing out in the final to Northampton in an agonising 25-21 defeat in last year's final, nearly three decades of hurt have come to an end.
– © AFP 2025
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The 42
a day ago
- The 42
How days as a Leicester Tiger helped shape Ireland coach Scott Bemand
SCOTT BEMAND WAS 25 when he joined Leicester Tigers, the fruition of a lifelong ambition. What he saw and experienced as part of that famous Tigers team shapes his outlook to this day. Talk to members of his Ireland women's squad, and they say the biggest change since Bemand came in as head coach in the summer of 2023 has been in how they train. It can all be traced back to Bemand's time as a Tiger. The Bemands farmed for a living in Hereford, about an hour's drive either side of Worcester and Gloucester in England's West Midlands. A strong sporting house, the young Scott Bemand threw his hand at whatever was on offer. 'I was a cricketer, I was a rugby player, I swam, tennis, anything. If there's a ball involved, give me it.' Yet Leicester Tigers were the big draw, that support reinforced by the regular presence of Tigers backrower Dean Richards around the family farm. 'At that point he was an England number eight, and he used to come shooting on the farm. So the first signature I got was Dean Richards. Every time he came to the house, 'Would you sign this for us?' We had a wide kitchen door and he filled it, and I was like 'Wow, how massive are these people!'' Years later, at the age of 18, Bemand played against Leicester for a junior club team in a development game. He played well enough to catch the eye, and acknowledges how that outing worked in his favour down the line when the scrum-half's time with Harlequins came to an end. After three years and 30 appearances for Quins, Bemand left London with a Challenge Cup medal in his pocket and joined a Tigers side who had won four Premiership titles and two European Cups in the previous seven years. Yet some things aren't meant to be – Bemand leaving Quins before Richards joined the club and landing in Leicester after his old hero had left. Not that there was any shortage of big figures knocking around Welford Road. 'Walking into a room and you look left and right and you meet Martin Johnson, Martin Corry, the list goes on,' he says, with Leo Cullen and Graham Rowntree also part of that famed Leicester squad. 'It was an unbelievable environment to step into. Very, very parochial, but we loved that. Advertisement Bemand playing for Leicester. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo 'The thing that struck me with Johnno, and Johhno's an absolute hero of mine, but as a leader he knew when to say 'we're doing this', and he knew when to say 'what do you think we need to do?' So one of the first starts I had there, he asked 'which way do you want to play?' And I was like, Martin Johnson's asking me which way I want to play! I said 'I think we should go this way and this is why,' and we ended up doing that. As an empowerment piece, as a young scrum-half I was blown away. That fella knew how to lead.' The lessons Bemand learned in those Leicester days are now being implemented on the IRFU's training pitches. 'You would have heard me talk about training identity quite a bit, that's probably where I first experienced it, where people from the outside would look in and go 'wow!' without really knowing what went on, but they would talk about the training identity of Leicester. So it had gravity to it, people respected it even without knowing it, and that translated to the pitch in terms of how they were able to put their version of whatever their culture was out onto a pitch. That's something that sat pretty deeply with me and it's something I've continued into my coaching.' The Ireland players started their pre-World Cup training camp in early June and describe training as being more competitive than ever, while training for game-specific situations has also helped the group manage their way through different scenarios on the pitch. Bemand points to last year's milestone defeat of New Zealand at WXV1 as an example. 'It's not always just about hard (work), it's not, but your identity is a strong anchor and in the toughest games, say the New Zealand game, for me that game's full of training identity, and the reason being we lost the lead with a few minutes to go and you saw people step up and what got us into their half gave us the position, gave us the ball back, gave us an opportunity. That's training identity. 'And then you think the game's won, but we've got to take a scrum on the halfway line because the clock is different, and that's training, that's snap of the fingers and they're back in. They're going from I think we've won it, to hold on, there's a scrum, calm, and that's training identity. So I'd say I learned a lot from the Leicester days. It's good grounding.' It's all been building towards this summer's World Cup, which kicks off next month. Ireland open their pool campaign against Japan in Northampton on 24 August, before games against Spain and New Zealand. Before that, they'll play two warm-up games against Scotland in Cork (2 August) and Canada in Belfast (9 August). Bemand joined the Ireland set-up in 2023. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO Across his two years in the job Bemand has tweaked the way Ireland play. Given so many of the squad might not have come to rugby until their mid-teens, he sees the multi-sport background those players have as a significant skill advantage. It's something he first became aware of while working as attack coach with the England women's team. 'The transfer between sports is high and we've got some advantages over here in Ireland in terms of the Gaelic games, whether it be hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, the transferable skills from that are significant. 'So whether you play soccer, which is a 360 game, a lot of fly-halves have got footballing background, some of our girls, the ones that are particularly strong aerially, have got a Gaelic football background. I think the first time I played against Ireland was at The Stoop, and we decided to go with the shorter kicking game. So, we dare you to catch these. They caught everything! 'And so the importance now of footballers in a backline… Wingers used to be: you're fast and you're a try-scorer. Now they're fielding kicks, looking at the opposition's game, shifting to it and putting kicks in. So they're fielding kicks, putting kicks in, it's three fullbacks now, isn't it? 'So the game is evolving in terms of the skill sets required and the bit to tap into for us is that cool richness of sports that a lot of people in Ireland play coming through, like Gaelic football as an example, it does transfer a lot. It transfers to lineouts, high hand skills, throwing, all that sort of stuff. I would have said we noticed it and it's definitely something we try to make an active decision really to try tap into it.' Ireland head into the World Cup without key players in Dorothy Wall and Erin King, while Aoife Wafer is in a race to be fit following a procedure on a knee injury. As damaging as those losses may be to a squad that remains a work in progress, there remains optimism heading into the tournament, with Bemand acknowledging a couple of good results would quickly get the hype train up and running again. 'A green shirt should be hard to get into,' he continues. 'It shouldn't be, 'oops, I find myself as an Ireland player.' You should have to earn it, and then there's the understanding of what you do when you get there. 'World Cups are always bigger beasts in terms of the noise, so competitions like this come with their own pressure. The World Cup will feel different to a Six Nations, so we have to understand what our key bits to go after are and almost dial down as much of the other noise as you possibly can. 'But ultimately, what are we here for? We're here to get the best performances out there, we're here to perform, and we want to come out with an experience that the players go, 'that was unbelievable'. We want them to have a good experience doing this, so if we can get those two bits right, hopefully the noise on the outside can stay on the outside.'
Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
‘Babies get big': Andrew Porter reflects on Lions sacrifices before second Test
Perhaps nothing symbolises the unity of the Lions squad more than Ellis Genge and Finlay Bealham quickly developing a 'bromance' and, similarly, the bond between the English loosehead and his Irish counterpart Andrew Porter runs deep. The greater good comes first, and on foot of Farrell deciding that Porter assuming the starting role and Genge being entrusted to bring his energy off the bench, it thus comes as no surprise than the latter was the first to congratulate the former on his promotion, despite it being at his expense. As Porter put it: 'It's been said so many times but you come into this squad with perceptions of different players. You're so used to playing against them in the Champions Cup or Six Nations or wherever, but your perceptions are dashed pretty much the minute you step in the door. 'Me and Ellis were rooming together as well, so I got to know him better. He's an incredible guy, an incredible player, and it's been great to build a friendship as well as learn from him. He's one of the best in the business so it's great being able to become closer as mates and learn from each other along the way. READ MORE 'But yeah, he was the first one to congratulate me yesterday and sure he handed out my cap to me last week instead of my dad. He's the dad of the squad. He's a great fellah and he's a great player as well.' All the more so as he was picked but forced to withdraw from the Lions tour four years ago, it was good to hear that Porter's dad Ernie, a former crash ball inside centre of some repute with Old Wesley, arrived in Australia last week to support his son. By no means uniquely in this squad, this tour has led to quite a reunion for the extended Porter clan, and his dad's sisters, Porter's aunts, have long since been living and rearing their families in various parts of Australia. 'He's having a nice old holiday. We have a load of family down here as well, all around the place; Perth, Brisbane, most of them in Sydney. Lions Ellis Genge and Andrew Porter celebrate after the game. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho 'It's a good opportunity for him to go and meet up with all the family and everything. It's great for me as well. There's a lot of them I wouldn't have even met before. A few cousins and stuff, and a lot I haven't seen in years and years. 'So, it's a great opportunity, obviously, to reconnect with family as well as being down here. Yeah, a lot of family down here. A lot of Porters all over the world now.' But, alas, not his wife Elaine and their first child, who are back in Ireland, So, when asked what he learned most on this tour, his answer had a certain poignancy. 'You're putting me on the spot now. I can't think. It's a curveball. What have I learned about myself? I learned that babies get very big when you're away from home. Yeah, my wife is at home looking after the baby. He's nine weeks now.' While this thought was something that evidently saddened him, he had to concede: 'I could say it's not easy for me but I don't think my wife would like that too much. 'I wouldn't get much sympathy,' he added with a wry smile. 'Yeah, it's that side of it as well. My wife is at home looking after our baby at the moment. She's the one in the trenches at home at the moment. I'm in the trenches over here. Well, I can't really say that. We're looked after here quite well. 'But it's a sacrifice on both ends. She's there with sleepless nights at home looking after him and I'm here representing my family, my country, and representing the Lions. It's two different kinds of sacrifices. But I'll definitely owe her for this for a long time anyway.' And he does have the not inconsiderable prospect of playing in one of the biggest games of his life. 'How often can you say you've done this down in the MCG with 90,000 plus people there? With, obviously, the series, on the line like this and being able to back up 2013, to win back-to-back tours in Australia.' Playing with the number one on his back is also a role he's more used to with Leinster and Ireland. 'It kind of allows you that chance to get into the game a bit more from the get-go. Sometimes I feel like I'm getting going when it's about 50 minutes in, because I'll be used to playing a bit longer at home. 'Starting or finishing, it's a huge honour to do both in a Lions Test team. Probably everyone would prefer starting but being a part of this squad is just an incredible privilege and incredibly grateful to be part of it, whether it's on the bench last week or starting this week.'
Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Irish Examiner
'Another dream ticked off' for Porter as Lions Test start awaits
It just keeps getting better for Andrew Porter. From being a Lions Test debutant off the bench in Brisbane last Saturday to reaching the pinnacle of any Irish player's career and becoming a starter, it cannot get much better for the 29-year-old loosehead prop. Except that the Leinster and Ireland star gets to do it in an all-Irish front row alongside Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong and in a pivotal Test match against Australia that could end in a first Lions series victory for a dozen years. At the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground and in front of an expected crowd in excess of 90,000. If Carlsberg did perfect scenarios and all that. Definitely. 'It's a dream come true,' Porter said. 'Firstly just being a part of this squad and then hearing your name in the Test team last week was incredible. Hearing my name in the starting line-up for this week is another dream ticked off again. 'I'm just incredibly excited for the opportunity to go out there and play for this team and play with these lads who we've created such a great connection with over the last few weeks. It's incredibly exciting and looking forward to ripping into it. 'I'd say it's up there with one of the biggest games of my life. How often can you say you've done this down in the MCG with 90,000 plus people there? 'With, obviously, the series on the line like this and being able to kind of back up 2013, to win back-to-back tours. It's definitely up there with one of the highlights. 'Like, even just being on this tour up there with one of the highlights of my life and career as a professional rugby player.' That the first squad member to congratulate Porter was the man he will replace on Saturday, Ellis Genge, made it all the sweeter as a moment to savour. "Yeah, he was the first one. It's been said so many times but you come into this squad with perceptions of different players. You're so used to playing against them in the Champions Cup or Six Nations or wherever but your perceptions are dashed pretty much the minute you step in the door. 'Me and Ellis were rooming together as well, so I got to know him better. He's an incredible guy, an incredible player, and it's been great to build a friendship as well as learn from him. He's one of the best in the business, so it's great being able to become closer as mates and learn from each other along the way. "But yeah, he was the first one to congratulate me yesterday and sure he handed out my cap to me last week instead of my dad. So he's the dad of the squad. He's a great fella and a great player. 'Starting or finishing, it's a huge honour to do both in a Lions Test team. 'Probably everyone would probably say starting. But, being a part of this squad is just an incredible privilege and incredibly grateful to be part of it, whether it's on the bench last week or starting this week.' Either way, Porter has and will have given blood to the cause. His ears were weeping as he spoke and he said: 'They're cut all year round now. They're just all year round. I can't have white pillowcases at home anymore because it looks like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre after I wake up in the morning. 'So, yeah. I've been banned from the white linens anyway at home.' Porter now favours black pillowcases, explaining: 'You can't see anything on them. Probably disgusting though.' The patience of Mrs Porter, Elaine, has been further stretched by her husband's lengthy absence so soon after the birth of their first child. 'What have I learned about myself? I learned that babies get very big when you're away from home. Yeah, my wife is at home looking after the baby. He's nine weeks now. 'I could say it's not easy for me, but I don't think my wife would like that too much. I wouldn't get much sympathy. 'Yeah, it's that side of it as well. My wife is at home looking after our baby at the moment. She's the one in the trenches at home at the moment. I'm in the trenches over here. Well, I can't really say that. We're looked after here quite well. 'But it's a sacrifice on both ends. She's there with sleepless nights at home looking after him and I'm here representing my family, my country, and representing the Lions. It's two different kinds of sacrifices. But I'll definitely owe her for this for a long time anyway.' Porter is not totally without family support in Australia. His father Ernie arrived in time for the first Test and has been catching up with his sisters, Andrew's aunts Becky and Vera, both of whom left Dublin when they were young. 'My old man came down. He was down there for last weekend in Brisbane and he's down here now. So, he's having a nice old holiday. We have a load of family down here as well… all around the place. Perth, Brisbane, and most of them in Sydney. 'It's a good opportunity for him to go and meet up with all the family and everything. Yeah, I mean, it's great for me as well. There's a lot of them I wouldn't have even met before. A few cousins and stuff, a lot of them I haven't seen in years and years. 'So, it's a great opportunity, obviously, to reconnect with family as well as being down here. A lot of Porters all over the world now. 'They got most of their own tickets, in fairness. So, yeah, I'm trying to get rid of tickets now.'
