Leicester Tigers player ratings vs Bath | 2024/25 Gallagher Premiership final

Leicester Tigers player ratings: Leicester came close to pulling off a heroic late comeback against Bath in the Gallagher Premiership final on Saturday, but fell short in a 23-21 loss at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium.

With the side trailing 20-7 with 15 minutes remaining, the lead looked too great for the Tigers to close down at one point. Though that did prove to be the case, some of their replacements ensured they made a great crack of it.

But there was too much to do in the final quarter for the Tigers, in part due to some poor displays in the opening 60 minutes.

Here’s how the players rated:

15. Freddie Steward – 4
Not his imperious best under the high ball with a few spilt catches, in part down to Bath’s kicking game drawing him forward, as well as their tactics to tap the ball back rather than compete to catch it. That is something he will have to get used to though.

14. Adam Radwan – 6
Showed he was more than just a clean pair of heels on one occasion, wrestling past the clutches of Ted Hill and Guy Pepper. Showed that strength again when holding up Miles Reid over the line when his side were down to 14 men and hanging on. Wasn’t strong enough later in the match though, as Pepper was able to shrug off the winger’s repeated attempts as he made his way to the line, though the try was disallowed.

13. Solomone Kata – 7
Kept the Tigers in the game when he burrowed over the line in the second half. A big intervention in a match where he was largely called upon to defend more than attack.

12. Joseph Woodward – 6
Forced into plenty of carries with Leicester’s backline stuttering and Bath exerting pressure – seven in his 50 minutes on the field. They weren’t ideal situations to be carrying in though.

11. Ollie Hassell-Collins – 6
Carved through the Bath defence with 15 minutes remaining, but couldn’t deliver a pinpoint pass to his fellow wing Radwan to lead to a try. Such precision is decisive in a final, particularly in one where chances like that were few and far between for the wing. That may be over-critical, though, as he did lay the platform for Leicester to score a few minutes later, nevertheless.

10. Handré Pollard – 5
Billed as the player that could sway this match for the Tigers as, after all, he does have two World Cup winner medals to his name, and he played some astute finals rugby, providing respite for his side with his boot in a half that Bath enjoyed plenty of the ball and territory in the first half. But ultimately, the defining moment of the match came when his pass was intercepted by Finn Russell, leading to Bath’s second try.

9. Jack van Poortvliet – 6
Opened the scoring by sniping off the back of a maul, but asked few questions of the Bath defence thereafter, as Leicester struggled to gain any fluency.

1. Nicky Smith – 5
Drew first blood in the opening scrum of the match, winning a penalty against Thomas du Toit, but the Springbok got his revenge as the half developed with two penalties of his own. An intriguing battle between the two internationals, but one the South African won.

2. Julián Montoya – 5.5
Yellow carded in his final ever Leicester performance, and gave away three points seconds after returning to the field of play as Leicester struggled to win over referee Karl Dickson at the breakdown. Did top his side’s tackle charts with 11, but his ill-discipline was costly.

3. Joe Heyes – 7
Couldn’t prevent the Tigers scrum from creaking in the first half after what appeared to be a strong start, but rebounded after the break with a penalty up against Beno Obano. Counter-rucked to win the ball back in his own 22 when Bath had a pep in their step, and put in eight tackles in the first half, although he was responsible for an offside penalty.

4. Cameron Henderson – 6
Worked in tandem with Radwan to hold Reid up over the line, but another player who contributed to Leicester’s sizeable penalty count.

5. Ollie Chessum – 6
Ensured Tom Dunn did not have an easy afternoon at the lineout and was machine-like in all areas of the match, although he was perhaps not as influential as he was in the semi-final win.

6. Hanro Liebenberg – 7
Finished the match with the most carries for his side and the second-most tackles. Never gave in, shown by his kick chase at the death – whenever a Bath player caught a high ball, the flanker frequently provided a welcoming party when they landed.

7. Tommy Reffell – 5
Found himself on the wrong side of Dickson’s whistle for Bath’s opening points of the match, and that became an all-too-common theme for his side. Roped off while Montoya was in the sin-bin and then taken off 15 minutes after the break. Was not Leicester’s afternoon at the breakdown, and the penalty count shows that.

8. Olly Cracknell – 6
Alongside Reffell, Cracknell found his work at the breakdown punished early on. Profited from Leicester’s initial scrummaging superiority with one rampaging run from the base downfield. Though such barnstorming runs dried up, he did not relent, producing 11 carries for his side.

22m Entries

Avg. Points Scored

2

7

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Avg. Points Scored

4.2

5

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Replacements
16. Charlie Clare – N/A
Only had a brief cameo while Montoya was sin-binned.

17. James Cronin – 6
Did not come under as much pressure as Smith did at the scrum, albeit in fewer scrums. Dependable from the bench, although produced nothing of note.

18. Dan Cole – 2
A tragic way to finish his career with a yellow card for a late tackle/ charge-down on Russell. Far from what an England and Leicester legend deserves, but it’s hard to rate a player any higher.

19. Matt Rogerson – 5
Called upon too late to make a telling impact, with only nine minutes.

20. Emeka Ilione – 7.5
A eye-catching 25 minutes dragged Leicester back into the game when it looked to be drifting away. His try from close range was just one of many bustling carries near the line.

21. Ben Youngs – 5
The decision to kick the ball away with a minute remaining has to be questioned. Was not an ideal position for the Tigers, but they never saw the ball again.

22. Ben Volavola – N/A
Did not come on.

23. Izaia Perese – 7
Despite playing only 30 minutes, the centre made the most metres of anyone on his side – 46 from seven carries. One of the replacements that spearheaded the Tigers’ resurgence.