Following Leicester Tigers’ 43-15 defeat to Bath in the Premiership, here is how we scored Michael Cheika’s men from this round 17 clash.
Leicester Tigers player ratings v Bath
15 Freddie Steward: His attacking improvements have been talked about to death already, but they again came to the fore today as he played a nice role in Leicester’s attack. Crucially, he looked to try new things to unlock the Bath defence. Had his pants pulled down by Tom Dunn in the second-half, mind. 6
14 Adam Radwan: Another game, another try; you simply cannot stop him scoring at the moment! Aside from that, he yet again posed a threat out wide and looked to break away with almost every touch of the ball. 7
13 Solomone Kata: Gave his side some nice punch through midfield, but drifted off a touch towards the end of his shift. 5
12 Joseph Woodward: Not as busy as usual, but looked to get involved whenever possible. Took his try like a seasoned pro though. 5
11 Ollie Hassell-Collins: His head-to-head with Joe Cokanasiga was really entertaining to watch, particularly in the second-half, and he came out of it with some good credit too – as did the Bath back to be fair. He’s had some attacking flourishes in recent weeks, but today his defensive skills were on full display. 6
10 Handré Pollard: Grew into the game as it went along and came up with some classy touches as a result. Yet another reminder of how much he will be missed in Tigers colours next season. 6
9 Jack van Poortvliet: This was a big chance for him to put one over England competitor Ben Spencer, and while he didn’t do much wrong probably came off second-best in that battle. Saying that, he did begin to find some joy towards the end of his spell. 5
Back-row
8 Olly Cracknell: Super physical in every aspect of his game, as he continues to make a case for Wales selection this summer. He got heavily involved in the battle up front during his stint, leading the pack for carries (10) prior to his departure, and matched that with 11 tackles to boot. 7
7 Tommy Reffell: Quieter than the rest of his back-row colleagues but still a decent outing nonetheless. Worked very hard in the breakdown and made his tackles when it counted. 5
6 Hanro Liebenberg: Another fine display from the South African forward, who is basking in glorious form. His tidy intercept in the first-half was arguably his highlight moment, but once again, he looked to make dents in the Bath defence ball-in-hand and produced some crunching tackles too. The Springboks are loaded in the back-row right now, but if he continues this way, he could be in contention. 8
Tight five
5 Ollie Chessum: Copped a yellow card – which could easily have been a red – for a high tackle early doors, but otherwise a solid shift. Worked very hard in the tight exchanges and helped the set-piece function well. 5
4 Cameron Henderson: Proper workhorse display from the lock, who has strung some solid performances together this season. Worked his socks off around the park with 13 tackles and six carries, and gave a decent platform at the lineout too. 6
3 Joe Heyes: Held his end of the scrum up pretty well against Beno Obano, which is a compliment in itself. 6
2 Julián Montoya: Solid at the set-piece, and got himself about in the loose too. Will be missed next season. 6
1 Nicky Smith: Gave Thomas du Toit a proper battle in the scrum, which many have failed to do at both Premiership and Test level. Made himself available for work in the loose too, which was nice to see. 6
Replacements: It’s always tough coming up the Bath bomb squad, but the Leicester bench gave it a proper crack. Ben Youngs, retiring at the end of the season, added a different dynamic to Jack van Poortvliet, but it seemed to bring the pack into it a lot more. Around him, Emeka Ilione added some serious beef to the pack with some huge efforts and Dan Kelly got stuck into things quickly too. The replacement front-row of Charlie Clare, James Cronin and Will Hurd also gave just as good as they got in the scrum, while Jamie Shillcock looked to try some different things in attack. 6
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/leicester-tigers-player-ratings-springbok-snub-basking-in-glorious-form-while-england-hopeful-dazzles-again-despite-defeat
