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
7 hours ago
- The 42
Clarkson's 3am text, Italian ancestry, and his Lions debut
AS HE STOOD in Marvel Stadium and chatted about his Lions debut, Thomas Clarkson was clutching the cap he had just been awarded as if he never wanted to let it go. Having come off the bench in the second half of the Lions' win over the First Nations & Pasifika XV, Clarkson became Lions player number 886, with chairman Ieuan Evans presenting caps to him and the other debutants in the dressing room afterwards. 'I didn't even know they did caps if you don't play in the Test,' said Clarkson. He hadn't thought about the Lions much until he got a text from Andy Farrell at 3am when he was on a night out with his Ireland team-mates following their win over Portugal two weekends ago. Clarkson immediately made his exit from the bar. 'Some text to get,' he said. 'It was like, 'Ring me when you're awake', so I said 'Oh yeah, grand.' 'Then Paulie [O'Connell] rang me and was like, 'Ring him right now!' So yeah, I had to just compose myself and go outside. 'I told Jack Boyle and then just legged it.' The Lions hadn't had an injury at tighthead prop, so Clarkson wasn't expecting a shout from Farrell. He jokes that he 'might have got the finger out' if there had been an obvious injury to one of the Lions players. Clarkson with his father, Finbarr, in Melbourne. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO The reality was that Farrell wanted additional cover at tighthead for training and for the First Nations & Pasifika game. Clarkson was the next best available prop in the Lions boss's eyes. 'Tom Clarkson was 100% the next cab on the rank,' said Farrell last night. Advertisement 'If anyone's seen how he's performed over the last six months, they'll see why.' Six months ago, Clarkson certainly wasn't aiming for a Lions call-up. 'Not a hope,' said the Leinster man. 'I only went in as a training panellist [with Ireland] in November, so I wasn't even really expecting to play in that. So to get a cap, I was delighted. 'The Six Nations, I was happy enough with how it went, I wouldn't have said I set the world alight or anything. So to then play well for Leinster at the end of the season and come in here, it's pretty mad.' Despite his excellent form, there was a backlash to Clarkson's call from the Lions. It was a little unfair to him that he was announced as a call-up on his own, whereas a group of three Scots were confirmed the following day. There probably wouldn't have been as much fuss if they'd all been announced together. The Dublin native steered clear of the bile online. 'I tried to stay away from it, to be honest,' said Clarkson. 'I feel like the last few weeks in Leinster, before the semi-final, was fairly negative. So I think just kind of trying to use that as a bit of motivation. I knew, just because Jamie [Osborne] got called in right before me, there was a bit of backlash to that. 'So, I knew it was going to be even more when I got the nod.' Sadly, this is something Clarkson has had to learn to do in recent years. Clarkson with fellow Lions debutant Jamie Osborne. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO Social media is not a nice place for players. 'It was a bit of a shock at the start, to be honest,' said Clarkson. 'Obviously, like, you grow up using social media. So it was hard to step away from it. But I just had to get rid of a lot of that. I just use Instagram now.' Whatever about the naysayers, Clarkson has loved being with the Lions since last week. His father, Finbarr, just about made it to Melbourne in time for the game, having 'legged it down' to Australia knowing that it was likely his son would feature in last night's game. Clarkson was rooming by himself for the first week in Brisbane but has been sharing with the unfortunate Darcy Graham, another late call-up, in recent days. Most of his time has been spent catching up on everything the Lions have been doing, a process smoothed by his familiarity with how Farrell likes the game played. He hasn't seen much of Australia outside of training venues and coffee shops, but he is loving every minute of the experience. It has been a whirlwind last year for the Leinster tighthead, who is happy now that he didn't take up an offer from Italian rugby to follow up on his ancestry. His mother's maiden name is Nina Cafolla. Her parents emigrated from the village of Casalattico, in between Naples and Rome, so Thomas could have switched allegiance. In fact, Thomas's real name is Tomasso. 'They came looking for me, but I'd just signed a new contract with Leinster,' said Clarkson. 'That was at the start of last season. It had gone quite well, so I kind of pushed it off. I didn't end it. I thought it could be open at some point down the line. 'Obviously, this year has gone very well.'
Irish Times
7 hours ago
- Irish Times
Overnight sensation Thomas Clarkson taking advantage of surprise Lions call-up
If ever there was a five-year overnight sensation it is assuredly Thomas Clarkson . He made his Leinster debut in August 2020 but went into this campaign with less than 20 starts under his belt and as his province's third choice tighthead. Yet there he was on Tuesday night in the Marvel Stadium mixed zone after the 24-19 win over the Pasifika XV , a bona fide British & Irish Lion. No one seemed more incredulous as well as delighted than the 25-year-old himself, for he freely admitted he wouldn't have thought all of this was possible when he was named as one of the additional, or development, players to train with Ireland's squad last November, before making his debut against Argentina off the bench, backing it up against Fiji, and then playing in four Six Nations games, starting against Wales. 'I wasn't even really expecting to play in that. So, to get a cap I was delighted. 'The Six Nations; I was happy enough with how it went. I wouldn't have said I set the world alight or anything. So, to then play well for Leinster at the end of the season and come in here, it's pretty mad.' READ MORE As recently as January 2025, Clarkson was playing an AIL Division 1B game for Blackrock. 'I made my Leinster debut five years ago now, so I've been waiting a long time. So, the fact that when it has come, it's all come at once is a bit crazy. Because I went through a good few years of not getting a sniff in at all really.' It's been a Lions tour of an unprecedented and, frankly, unexpected bounty for Irish tightheads, three of them making the tour. And two of whom are inextricably linked. Had it not been for the calf and hamstring issues which restricted Tadhg Furlong to just seven games for Leinster and one for Ireland, Clarkson would never have had the opportunities that came for province and country. Ireland's Thomas Clarkson runs in try against Portugal. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Even so, after adding three more Champions Cup pool games to his one outing before this season, Clarkson didn't make the Leinster 23 in their European knockout games. But with Furlong sidelined again, Leo Cullen started Clarkson in their round 18 game against Glasgow. 'It all kind of just clicked and then kept that momentum going. That was the first game when I thought: 'That was a proper performance'.' David Humphreys has now lifted his moratorium on the provinces signing props from abroad and although Furlong's injury woes have been a factor, Clarkson's own account of his growth this season shows how Irish players can learn from overseas acquisitions like Rabah Slimani. 'I've been kind of understudy to Tadhg for a good few years now. He's consistently been probably the best tighthead in the world over the last few years. It's been unbelievable being there, just around him. 'Rabah's come in and probably offered something a bit different, where he's 100 per cent scrum. Tadhg obviously has an array of different stuff that he brings to it, whereas Rabah, when you're scrumming against him in training, it's all or nothing against him. It's been a different kind of experience with him, but I've felt I've come out the other end well.' Clarkson retained his starting place at tighthead in the URC quarter-final, semi-final and final wins, before playing against Georgia and Portugal. That Saturday night in Lisbon, he thought his breakthrough season was done until he received a text from Andy Farrell at 3am. 'We were on a night out; I had to go home straight away. But yeah, some text to get. It was like: 'ring me when you're awake', so I said: 'Oh yeah, grand'. Then Paulie [O'Connell] rang me and was like: 'Ring him right now'. So yeah, I had to just compose myself and go outside. I told Jack Boyle and then just legged it.' Lions Thomas Clarkson and Jamie Osborne celebrate after the game. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho Sadly, social media can be a nasty world, and on foot of the backlash to him and Jamie Osborne being called up, Clarkson opted to ignore it. 'I feel like the last few weeks in Leinster, before the semi-final, was fairly negative. I just tried to use that as a bit of motivation. I knew, just because Jamie got called in right before me, there was a bit of backlash to that. So, I knew it was going to be even more when I got the nod. So yeah, I just tried to stay away from it.' 'It was a bit of a shock at the start, to be honest. You grow up using social media. It was hard to step away from it. But I just had to get rid of a lot of that.' Clarkson admits that linking up with the Lions at short notice was a good deal easier for him than the late Scottish call-ups given his familiarity with so many players and coaches, not least Andy Farrell and John Fogarty. On Tuesday morning Fogarty told Clarkson that his form for Leinster merited his call-up and encouraged him to continue that form into the match that night, so building up his confidence. 'I felt like I was chasing my tail a little bit, but happy enough with the scrum and I made a few tackles. It was a good start.' To make Clarkson's landmark night even better, his father Finbarr made it out in time for Tuesday's match. 'I think he knew if he was going to be here for any game, it would be this game. So yeah, he legged it down.' All the while in the mixed zone, he still had his Lions cap in his grasp, which had been given to him by Ieuen Evans. 'It's crazy, 886,' he says, of his number in Lions' playing history. 'I didn't even know they did caps if you don't play in the Test.' He's a Lion now all right.
Irish Examiner
8 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
'It was a bit of a shock': Thomas Clarkson blocks out social backlash after Lions come calling
It is an indictment of social media and society in general that Thomas Clarkson's first act as a British & Irish Lion was to disconnect from it. For many of those who can remember the pre-internet age, the idea of withdrawing from the online world would be some kind of nirvana but if you are 24-years-old and that is the only life you have known then it is a different decision to have to make. Such is the life of a professional athlete, whose career-transforming moment at being called up to the Lions tour in Australia was accompanied by the trolling of disgruntled online users upset by the selection ahead of whoever they believed was more suited for the role. On Tuesday at Marvel Stadium, as Clarkson replaced fellow Irishman Finlay Bealham on 50 minutes to become British & Irish Lion number 886, the tighthead prop justified his selection as a squad member head coach Andy Farrell insisted was '100% the next cab on the rank' to join an elite band of 2025 tourists. Read More Donal Lenihan: Schmidt and Wallabies have enough to cling onto to ensure Melbourne storm 'If anyone's seen how he's performed over the last six months, they'll see why,' the Lions boss said of Clarkson. Eight Ireland caps, four of them in this season's Six Nations, including a start against Wales in a Triple Crown-sealing victory is why, with Clarkson having further enhanced his reputation, on home soil at least, with ownership of Leinster's number three jersey in all three of his province's URC knockout games in their run to the title. The evidence was not enough to stop the online naysayers, although Clarkson did not allow himself to be sucked in. 'I tried to stay away from it, to be honest,' he said. 'I feel like the last few weeks in Leinster, before the semi-final, was fairly negative. I think just kind of trying to use that as a bit of motivation. I knew, just because Jamie (Osborne) got called in right before me, there was a bit of backlash to that. 'I knew it was going to be even more when I got the nod. So yeah, I just tried to stay away from it. 'Yeah, it was a bit of a shock at the start, to be honest. Obviously, like, you grow up using social media. So it was hard to step away from it. But I just had to get rid of a lot of that. I just use Instagram now.' The Lions' Thomas Clarkson celebrates with his father Finbarr after the game against the First Nations & Pasifika XV. Pic: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan Six months ago, Clarkson had been an uncapped Ireland training panelist, invited into camp by Farrell ahead of an Autumn Nations Series last November that saw him earn his Test debut off the bench at Aviva Stadium against Argentina. The British & Irish Lions were not remotely on his radar. 'Not a hope. I only went in as a training panelist in November. I wasn't even really expecting to play in that. So to get a cap I was delighted. 'The Six Nations, I was happy enough with how it went, I wouldn't have said I set the world alight or anything. To then play well for Leinster at the end of the season and come in here, it's pretty mad. 'Crazy. Pretty unbelievable stuff. But I'm happy. Probably, I benefited from Tadhg (Furlong) being injured at the end of the season, definitely benefited from that. 'But I'd like to think I took the opportunity.' With Furlong and Bealham away on tour with the Lions, Clarkson believed his big opportunity was coming in Ireland's summer matches in Georgia and Portugal, both of which he started, scoring his maiden Test try in the 106-7 rout of the Portuguese on July 12. Then came the text from Farrell and a nudge from interim head coach Paul O'Connell. 'I found out three o'clock in the morning after the Portugal game. We were on a night out, I had to go home straight away. But yeah, some text to get. 'It was like: 'ring me when you're awake', so I said 'oh yeah, grand'. Then Paulie rang me and was like, 'ring him right now'. So yeah, I had to just compose myself and go outside. 'I told Jack Boyle and then just legged it.' Eleven days later and Clarkson is a Lion, coming on against the First Nations & Pasifika XV in Melbourne and just about coming out on the right side of a 24-19 victory in the final midweek game of the tour. 'It was good,' he said, 'I felt like I was chasing my tail a little bit. But happy enough with the scrum and I made a few tackles. It was a good start. 'It's a fairly similar system to Leinster in Ireland, so it was just getting a handle on what the actual names were. But in terms of what I'm doing, I'm pretty used to it. 'I felt bad for the Scottish fellas coming in. They only got in on Sunday night, thrown in, having never played that way before. I was in a better place than them.' Likely to be one and done with the Lions with only the second and third Tests against Australia to come on tour, Clarkson could well find himself on a plane home before the week is out alongside the Scottish quartet Ewan Ashman, Rory Sutherland, Gregor Brown and Darcy Graham, their roles fulfilled after taking the pressure off the likely Test starters. His long season at an end and he is honest enough to be not thinking about the next campaign just yet. 'To be honest, I'm kind of excited for the break more than... Once the break's done, then I'll start thinking about cracking on. Obviously, Tadhg and Finlay are about here, so I'm not going to be guaranteed you go back and play, even with Ireland. 'Just looking forward to the challenge of cracking into it.' He has allowed himself to think about a return to Australia, however, with Ireland set to return for the 2027 World Cup here. 'Definitely. I'll go back, try and break into Ireland properly, consistently in the 23 and go from there. But like I said, it's going to be a massive challenge. I'm not just going to walk back in. 'It's going to be the two lads who are there. I need to get in the mix with them.'
