Bath Rugby will take on Leicester Tigers in this season’s Twickenham final
Premiership Rugby will bring the curtain down on the 2024/25 season when this year’s title decider kicks off at Twickenham on Saturday afternoon.
Last year’s losing finalists Bath Rugby return for this year’s showdown, having comfortably topped the league table and beaten local rivals Bristol Bears in Friday’s play-off semi-final. Their opponents are 2022 champions Leicester Tigers, who overcame Sale Sharks in a tight semi at Welford Road the following day.
Read more: How to watch Premiership Rugby
Both semis were exciting to watch but – following a recent trend in the Premiership – the two home sides secured wins. As this guide to the last five Premiership winners shows, the team that tops the league table tends to lift the trophy at Twickenham, which bodes well for Bath as they look for a first title since 1996. But Leicester (who’ve etched their name on the cup nine times since Bath’s last victory) can take heart from Harlequins’ shock win in 2021 as they look to cause an upset.
Premiership Rugby: Who won the last five seasons?
2023/24: Northampton Saints 25-21 Bath Rugby
These evenly matched titans of English rugby finished the regular season tied on points, and on the day it was arguably the first-half red card given to Bath prop Beno Obano that proved decisive.
Even with 14 men, Bath looked like the side most likely to claim the title until Saints’ Alex Mitchell scored the 73rd-minute try that bagged the title.
Table toppers: Northampton Saints
2022/23: Saracens 35-25 Sale Sharks
Sale made it to the final for the first time in 17 years. However, they faced a tough opposition in Saracens who were looking to right the wrongs of the previous season.
Saracens clinched their sixth Premiership title with a four-try victory, including two touchdowns in the final quarter from Elliot Daly.
Table toppers: Saracens
2021/22: Leicester Tigers 15-12 Saracens
In Saracens’ first season back in the Premiership after relegation they reached the final. Standing in their way of a perfect return to the Premiership was Steve Borthwick‘s Leicester Tigers.
The match was a closely fought final decided by a late drop goal from Freddie Burns.
Table toppers: Leicester Tigers
2020/21: Harlequins 40-38 Exeter Chiefs
Harlequins had made the final after one of the best comebacks in rugby history against Bristol Bears in the semi-final. Quins beat the west country side 43-36 after being 28-0 down in a match that was dubbed “Bristanbul”, a reference to Liverpool’s famous comeback in the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul.
In the final they faced Exeter and while Harlequins had a half-time lead, Exeter had managed to get ahead in the closing stages. However, two late Louis Lynagh tries sealed the win for the London club.
Table toppers: Bristol Bears
2019/20: Exeter Chiefs 19-13 Wasps
Exeter Chiefs’ win saw them complete their first ever double, having already secured the Champions Cup. A try by Henry Slade and the boot of Joe Simmonds got Exeter over the line.
It was the last time Wasps competed in a Premiership final. In 2022 the club went into administration.
Table toppers: Exeter Chiefs
Download the digital edition of Rugby World straight to your tablet or subscribe to the print edition to get the magazine delivered to your door.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: rugbyworld.com
