Rugby: Bath bid to return to the glory days in Gallagher Premiership Final

Bath v Leicester Live on TNT Sports (1.30pm) and ITV 1 (2.30pm)

13 June 2025 - GRNDSTND, by Matt Hooper: After 29 years, Bath Rugby can become Champions of England again on Saturday, as they take on old rivals Leicester in the Gallagher Premiership Final at Twickenham. In the years prior to Rugby becoming fully professional Bath were the dominant club in England, winning the Courage League title in 1988–89, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, and 1995–96, along with winning the RFU Cup in 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1993–94, 1994–95, and 1995–96. During that period Bath won the domestic double four times, before their crowning glory in 1997-98, winning the Heineken Champions Cup.

I was born in Bath in 1983, so I grew up with Bath being the number one name in Rugby Union, with them winning 17 Major trophies in my first 15 years on this planet. Bath were as famous as Manchester United, Liverpool, and Real Madrid in this period of time. They transcended the sport far beyond its traditional boundaries, and in 1995 they provided 9 of England's 26-man squad, with stars such as Jeremy Guscott, Mike Catt and Jonathan Callard taking us to the Semi-Finals in South Africa. 2 years later the British and Irish Lions Tour to South Africa was a historic moment in modern Rugby, and Bath star Guscott was at the heart of their success.

During the glory years of Bath Rugby they forged a fierce rivalry with Leicester, meeting in 3 RFU Cup Finals at Twickenham, and finishing as number 1 and 2 in the Courage League in 1993-94, 1994-95, and 1995-96. Now, 29 years later, they are the top 2 in English Rugby again, and Bath are bidding to complete a historic treble, having won the Premiership Rugby Cup and European Challenge Cup.

Bath dominated the regular season, securing top spot weeks ahead of the playoffs, and won 14 of their 18 league games, including both regular season games against Leicester. Victory at Twickenham would secure Bath's 7th English league title, and 21st major trophy, whilst Leicester are bidding for their 12th league title, and 22nd success. They are, by far, the most successful two clubs in English Rugby Union, and it is set to be a showdown for the ages at the home of Rugby this Saturday.

Team News:

Bath Rugby: 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Max Ojomoh, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Will Muir, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer (c), 1 Beno Obano, 2 Tom Dunn, 3 Thomas du Toit, 4 Quinn Roux, 5 Charlie Ewels, 6 Ted Hill, 7 Guy Pepper, 8 Miles Reid

Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Tom Carr-Smith, 22 Ciaran Donoghue, 23 Alfie Barbeary

Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Solomone Kata, 12 Joseph Woodward, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 1 Nicky Smith, 2 Julián Montoya (c), 3 Joe Heyes, 4 Cameron Henderson, 5 Ollie Chessum, 6 Hanro Liebenberg, 7 Tommy Reffell, 8 Olly Cracknell

Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 James Cronin, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Matt Rogerson, 20 Emeka Ilione, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Ben Volavola, 23 Izaia Perese

Gallagher Premiership trophy / Getty Images

Gallagher Premiership Rugby Final to sign-off record-breaking season on TNT Sports

The curtain comes down on a memorable rugby season this weekend and TNT Sports has continued to engage record numbers of fans through its coverage of Gallagher Premiership Rugby over the past nine months.

Average audiences are up 10% versus the 2023/24 season while TNT Sports’ live-to-live scheduling strategy has seen Saturday afternoon Premiership Rugby matches draw a 47% rise in audiences when directly following a Premier League football match versus weeks with no Premier League lead-in.

Last year’s runners-up play Michael Cheika’s Leicester Tigers this Saturday at Allianz Stadium Twickenham (KO 3pm) for the right to be crowned the best club side in England with an extended build-up starting from 1.30pm on TNT Sports 1 and discovery+ with a full cast of rugby experts on hand to offer unrivalled insights and analysis for viewers.

Full TNT Sports presentation team for Saturday’s broadcast:

Presenter – Craig Doyle (pictured)

Reporter – Sarra Elgan

Commentator – Alastair Eykyn

Co-commentator – Austin Healey

Co-commentator – Ben Kay

Expert – Emily Scarratt

Expert – Danny Care

Expert – Ugo Monye

Expert – David Flatman

To capture the unique atmosphere inside and outside of the stadium, TNT Sports will have various presentation positions across Twickenham such as in the fan zones, concourse as well as pitch side and on the pitch itself with on field demos. TNT Sports will also have access to the dressing room and tunnel areas.

In addition, TNT Sports will have a record number of cameras in the stadium capturing every angle and the use of AR graphics throughout the broadcast will further enhance the viewing experience, along with the latest, enhanced version of RefCam which was trialled in the play-off games in Bath and Leicester. Following its success last year, players from Bath and Leicester Tigers will once again wear Player Mic, giving viewers a unique insight into what it is like to play in a showpiece rugby match.

TNT Sports is the home of Gallagher Premiership Rugby and recently announced an extended deal that will see every match broadcast on its platforms until at least 2031.