Bath Rugby player ratings from Leicester Tigers victory - 'Reached a new level'
Bath Rugby made it two wins from two in the 2024/25 Gallager Premiership season, beating fierce rivals Leicester Tigers 20-15 at Mattioli Woods Welford Road on Sunday.
In what was a very scrappy affair from both teams, it was the Blue, Black and White that edged out the Tigers, with errors throughout the 80 minutes keeping the game extremely close until the final whistle. However, tries from Will Muir, Tom de Glanville and Guy Pepper, plus a conversion and a penalty from Finn Russell and Ben Spencer, respectively, gave Bath enough for a rare win at Welford Road. The Tigers scored thanks to tries from Jack van Poortvliet and Dan Cole, with fly-half Jamie Shillcock adding five points from his boot with a conversion and a penalty goal.
Rugby writer Olly D'Arcy takes a closer look at the individual performances from the Bath players...
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15 Tom de Glanville - 7
De Glanville didn't stay at full-back long after Cokanasiga failed his HIA, filling into wing after 20 minutes. He was solid under the high ball when needed. However, he used his place on the right wing to his great advantage, diving over in the corner after the brilliant Bath hands set him free after a great shove in the scrum after just seven second-half minutes. It's super to see him back and injury-free, and he looks in great nick for the 2024/25 season.
14 Joe Cokanasiga - 6
Dragged down by the last man but found some early space like Muir after a good early spell for Bath. Forced off with a HIA after 17 minutes, and he did not return.
13 Ollie Lawrence - 8
Again, it was another quiet start for the England international, but his quality showed when it was needed, with a sublime one-handed offload to Muir that set the winger away to open Bath's account. He was a knock-on away from getting on the end of Russell's chip for try two, but could not haul the ball in. Again, there were quality moments once again from the centre, including a couple of eye-catching breaks, but some poor passing let him down.. However, ripping the ball out in defence and then turning it into a 50/22 gave the Blue, Black & White opportunities that they could not take. He took control of a depleted backline, and with both Spencer and Russell not at their best, Lawrence continued to make carries and metres to drive the away side to victory.
12 Will Butt - 8
Brilliantly set free by Russell to charge through and set up Muir for the Blue, Black & White's first try, looking at home in the number 12 jersey again when he had the ball in hand, finding space a couple more times throughout the game. It was a quieter second half for the inside centre, but there were still some flashes of brilliance. Both of his starts to open the 2024/25 season have been hugely promising as he has really taken his game to another level.
11 Will Muir - 7
'The Horse' was set free by Russell after just 5 minutes, but after selling the first dummy, he could not do it again and was dragged down just two metres from the try line. The winger went for an intercept that should have led to a Tigers try, but Ollie Hassell-Collins' knock-on spared his blushes. There were chances to score down the left wing as Bath controlled possession in the first half, but he was bundled into touch three times by the Tigers' defence, turning the ball over in the process. His second half lasted just five minutes after he twisted his knee trying to bring down Hassell-Collins, which was not great for the winger as he needed to be helped off the pitch.
10 Finn Russell - 4
Russell made the magic happen from very early on with a couple of superb passes. However, the Scottish international was brought back down to earth with a mistake-fille first half. He kicked into the dead ball area from a penalty, and although he was instrumental in the first try to set Butt free, two poor kicks that didn't find touch led to Leiester's first try as they exploited the 'Dupont Rule' with most of Bath's defence caught offside. There were also loose passes and mistakes that we are not used to seeing from the fly-half. It was a similar story in the second half, with a 10-metre pass unlocking the Leicester defence for the second try, but some loose kicks gave possession away consistently in the second half in what was a very slack showing from the usually calm and composed Scot. His kicking from the tee was also off, so much so that Ben Spencer took responsibility for the final kick. One of his worst displays for the club, but he will shrug it off after a win.
9 Ben Spencer - 6
Not as sharp as last week's man-of-the-match performance against Northampton. A few wayward kicks in the opening 15 minutes came from the scrum-half, something that is usually a staple of his game. His passing was also off the mark many times, as the Russell and Spencer connection was extremely error-strewn in the first 40 minutes. That continued in the second half, with more loose passes to the feet instead of the hands turning the ball over, killing a lot of momentum. However, when it mattered most, the captain stepped up and kicked a vital penalty with just over five minutes to go, making it a two-score game, all but sealing a rare Welford Road win. Had a couple of passes following promising breaks came his way, Spencer could easily have scored a couple of tries but it was just one of those days.
1 Beno Obano - 6
There was only one scrum in the first half, but Obano gave away a penalty to paint an early picture to referee Craig Maxwell-Keys. There weren't a lot of opportunities for ball in hand for the tighthead prop in the first half. In the second half, a penalty advantage from the back of a good scrum shove led to Bath's second try, but the second-half scrum was dominated by the Tigers. Obano was also kept in check before he was subbed off.
2 Tom Dunn - 7
The lineout worked well for the Blue, Black & White in the first 40 minutes, and the hooker was used in a lot of Bath's big carries, one of the few forwards that got across the gain line well against a stout Leicester defence. The lineout success continued in the second half, and while it was solid for Bath, it was not for Leicester, and those mistakes forced by Bath and Dunn were vital for their five-point victory.
3 Will Stuart - 6
There were some good carries early on from the loosehead prop, but they quietened down as the first 40 minutes continued. As Bath could not get a foothold into the game, neither could Stuart, who stayed resolute in defence, but very quiet in attack.
4 Quinn Roux - 7
Bath may have had the majority of possession in the first half, but the Blue, Black & White had to weather a Tigers storm in attack, holding the ball up three times, and that was thanks to great work at the breakdown by Roux, just like last week against the Saints. It was another underrated stint from the Irish lock before he came off, and he has shown some quality in the second row to start the season.
5 Ross Molony - 6
In his first start for Bath since moving from Leinster, he held firm to stop the Tigers from crossing the whitewash during their good spell of possession between 10 and 20 minutes, working well with Roux in the middle of the pitch. He came off a little earlier than Roux, and there were fewer bright spots for the new signing, but in his Blue, Black & White debut, it was a good showing.
6 Josh Bayliss - 6
There were spells of ball in hand for the Scottish international who was featuring for the first time this season. He would hoped for a bit more action in the first part of the game. He got just that after Muri's injury, moving out to the left wing as Bath's 6-2 split on the bench was strained, and his hands were great to be a part of the move that set de Glanville free for his try. However, the was no more action for the flanker-turned-winger, and he was replaced after 57 minutes.
7 Guy Pepper - 8
Making his first start for the Blue, Black & White since moving from Newcastle, Pepper was the busiest of the back row, putting in some big hits and heavy carries when required, but like Bayliss, he would have been hoping for some more cohesion in attack despite dominating possession. Brilliant turnover to start the second half, and he did so again with two big turnovers in just five minutes. A vital try in front of the posts from the flanker gave Bath a seven-point lead with 25 minutes to go, shifting momentum in the game and giving himself a well-deserved score after causing mayham for the majority of the second half. If that is what is to come for the rest of the season, everyone involved in Bath will be delighted.
8 Alfie Barbeary - 5
Came off very early on in the first half with a HIA, but came back 10 minutes later. However, for someone who had an abundance of carries and metres last year, the opening two games have been extremely quiet for the 23-year-old. Both the first and the second half were extremely quiet, and there were no inroads made by the number 8.
Replacements
16 Niall Annett - 5
17 Francois van Wyk - 5
18 Vilikesa Sela - 6
19 Charlie Ewels - 6
20 Ted Hill - 7
21 Tom Carr-Smith - 6
22 Orlando Bailey - 6
Came on after 17 minutes for Cokanasiga's HIA, and stayed on for the majority of the game, moving about in a makeshift backline. There was not a lot of kicking and controlling the game from the substitute, but he did the basics very well to keep the Bath attack ticking along.
23 Jaco Coetzee - 7