Stuart Hooper expects tight Premiership play-off race

David Skippers
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Bath director of rugby Stuart Hooper (right) prior to the Gallagher Premiership match at Ashton Gate, Bristol.

Bath director of rugby Stuart Hooper believes the race for the Premiership play-offs will be an exciting one over the next six weeks.

Hooper’s team remained firmly in the play-off picture by crushing an inexperienced Leicester side 38-16 at Welford Road.

Leicester fielded one of their youngest starting line-ups in Premiership history, with head coach Steve Borthwick handing out three debuts, making 13 changes and resting all his England contingent apart from veteran prop Dan Cole.

And Bath romped to a record league win on Tigers’ soil, scoring six tries to stay in fifth place ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Northampton.

“I think it is going to be exciting, and it’s pretty quick as well,” said Hooper.

“Every game is obviously an opportunity to pick up points.

“Leicester came out with a huge amount of energy, and we didn’t start with quite the intensity we needed.

“We are working towards being a team that challenges each other versus what the opposition bring.

“If we want to be a championship-winning team, we have got to make sure that whoever is in front of us, we can go through those moments and really work our way through and execute.

“It is a mark of a quality side if you can do that.”

Bath showed no mercy, cruising home at the start of a hectic period when all Premiership clubs will play three games in just over a week.

The visitors scored four first-half tries through front-row forwards Will Stuart, Tom Dunn and Lewis Boyce, while wing Ruaridh McConnochie also touched down and fly-half Rhys Priestland kicked three conversions.

One-way traffic continued in the second period as prop Beno Obano and substitute back Tom De Glanville – son of former England captain Phil De Glanville – added further tries, with scrum-half Ben Spencer kicking one conversion.

All Leicester could manage were two early Johnny McPhillips penalties and consolation tries from replacement hooker Charlie Clare and flanker Luke Wallace.

Asked about Tigers’ team selection, Leicester rugby director Geordan Murphy said: “We picked the side as a coaching group together, and we were in agreement with the side we wanted to pick.

“It was really important on the back of the short pre-season we had that we gave guys the opportunity to go and play.

“We thought the best thing for us was to rotate and give the guys an opportunity to play.

“Obviously, we are not happy with the result, but the young guys did a pretty reasonable job and they will learn from that and benefit down the line.

“We started the game very well, but we gave away a couple of poor penalties and gave them opportunities.

“At half-time when we were 26-6 down against a side with that experience, and we had an inexperienced side, there is always a danger you could capitulate and it could have been 60.

“The guys put in a lot of effort. We did a lot of good things.”

 

Bath