Du Toit hat-trick secures Bath home semi-final after two-point win against Leicester

AI Summary

Bath Rugby secured a home semi-final spot with a 24-22 win over Leicester Tigers, thanks to a hat-trick from Thomas du Toit. The match was a closely contested and physical encounter, with both teams scoring seven tries.

The Thrilling Encounter

Bath-Leicester is about as earthy a rivalry as it gets, and, boy, in this era of free-flowing, almost surreal, rugby, here we had a proper throwback to times past. Brutal. And with this hardest of wins, Bath the champions have chiselled out the right to play at home in next weekend’s semi-finals.

Du Toit's Dominant Performance

Thomas du Toit has been reckoned for a while to be Bath’s MVP, maybe the Prem’s. When a tighthead scores a hat-trick, it seems safe to conclude the type of contest it was – and you would not be wrong.

The Match Statistics

Bath: 24 points
Leicester: 22 points
Tries: Du Toit 3, Cokanasiga
Cons: Carreras 2

The Impact Analysis

Leicester came close, George Pearson’s try a minute or so before time, earning Orlando Bailey, lately of this parish, a chance to pull the scores level with the conversion. He hit the post, but it mattered not. Leicester needed to win to leapfrog Bath into a home semi-final.

The Prediction

Next weekend, Northampton host Leicester (earthiest of them all?) and Bath will take on Exeter. Two semis, two derbies. Forget about the razzmatazz. This is why most of us fell in love with rugby.