It will be tough for Bath to retain title

YOU would like to think that last weekend’s Premiership final between Bath and Leicester was the beginning of a new dynastic rivalry between the two clubs like it was back in the day.

- JEREMY GUSCOTT

However, it’s never that easy, because while Bath should get stronger with the arrival of talented backs like Santiago Carreras and Henry Arundell, there will be big changes at Leicester with the departure of head coach Michael Cheika, and the loss of the intellectual property that England centurions like Ben Youngs and Dan Cole bring to Tigers training. There’s also the issue of Ollie Chessum going on his first Lions tour, with some outcomes big positives for players, while others experience a downturn.

Leicester’s new coach Geoff Parling was a thinking man’s player, and he’s made a strong impression as a coach in Australia since leaving Welford Road via a stint at Exeter. Parling’s also fortunate that Cheika has left the Tigers squad in good shape, although there’s a big hole at fly-half following Handre Pollard’s decision to rejoin his former side, the Bulls. Hopefully, Parling is not too proud to bring in experienced help, because expectations at Leicester are high, and it is a big ask in his first head coach assignment.

In addition, the competition at the top of the Premiership table promises to be hard next season with Bath and Northampton the likely leaders and Leicester, Sale, and Saracens hard on their heels.

So, in terms of a Bath v Leicester rivalry I’m not entirely sure. It will always be a big fixture, but I'm not yet convinced it will be like the last real Premiership rivalry between Saracens and Exeter: Rivalries are created by the current players, and the edge that comes with either just winning or losing very close games, and the contentious moments that make them memorable.

I'm not sure that Cole’s yellow card towards the end of last Saturday’s final at Twickenham qualifies as a big enough incident to create real edge — but if Leicester and Bath get to meet again next season in another final, or semi-final, then a real rivalry will have been rekindled.