Bath and Leicester roll back the years in battle for English supremacy

LONDON -Bath v Leicester is a fixture that is evocative of a time when the clubs totally ruled English rugby, and memories and rivalries forged in the 1980s will re-emerge on Saturday when they meet in the English Premiership final for the first time.

They, along with Gloucester, are the only clubs to have been permanent members of the top flight since it was formed 1988 and in the league's early years they were totally dominant, winning 12 of the first 15 titles between them, as well as nine versions of the cup.

Since those glory days, however, it has been a different story, as the likes of Saracens, Wasps, Northampton and Exeter broke up the hegemony.

Leicester did continue to dine at the top table, winning the league in 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2022 to take their tally to 11, but Bath's last triumph remains the 1996 title when the winners were still decided by a simple league table with no end-of-season final.

That was also the last time the two big guns faced off at Twickenham, as Bath triumphed 16-15 in the Pilkington Cup final courtesy of a last-minute penalty try that Leicester fans have been grumbling about for 29 years.

Until this season, Bath's 1996 league and cup double remained their last domestic success - though they did win the European Cup two years later.

They have lost three Premiership finals since then, including last year's nail-biter against Northampton, but are now bidding for a 2025 treble having already bagged the Premiership Cup - largely a development competition - and the European Challenge Cup.

They finished away and clear at the top of the Premiership and, after an early wobble, eventually swept past Bristol in the semis.

South African coach Johann van Graan has introduced a level of pragmatism rarely