It all ended with a 15-on-15 brawl at the Recreation Ground this evening as Bath defeated their old rivals Leicester 19-18 in an enthralling game.
The first half saw terrifically entertaining end-to-end action from both sides, with former Bath fullback Anthony Watson, in particular, threatening the west country side's backline at every possible opportunity.
It was a quick start for Leicester, as Fijian powerhouse Namani Nadolo stormed over the try line within five minutes to give the visitors the lead.
Bath returned the favours in the 28th minute with a wonderful team move that saw Ted Hill dot down in the corner.
Following a powerful forwards move at the end of the half, Leicester added another try to their side's total as they took to the changing rooms at halftime 8-15 up.
One player that was very glad to see the back of that half was a certain Harry Potter. The man with the famous name had a night to forget, the first half saw two try-line knock-ons from Potter in the same corner, which would have taken the midlands side well into the lead.
Buoyed on by Austin Healey's comments that the corner was ‘cursed’, there’s no doubt that Potter will be using the ‘Obliviate’ memory-erasing spell after that game.
The second half started no better for Potter and his teammates, as bath closed the gap with a well-struck penalty from Orlando Bailey.
As the game tipped from one attack to the other, no one could quite predict which way it was going to go. In the dying minutes, Bath forced a penalty in their own half for which former Munster man, Matt Gallagher, hoofed the ball all the way up to the Leicester five-metre line. The following intense pressure from Bath paid off as a smooth backs move put Will Butt over in the corner for a terrific wingers finish.
Following the winning try, there was an almighty skirmish between both sides as tempers boiled over, though this did not affect the result as bath took the spoils 19-18.
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