Robert Kitson

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Robert Kitson

Best games attended1) Leinster 34-37 Northampton, 3 May. One of the great ram-raids. 2) England 26-25 France, 8 February. A crazy contest with a dramatic late twist. 3) Bath 26-36 Bristol, 5 October. Bristol’s attacking play was sublime. Best matchday experience1) Bath v Bristol Bears, Premiership semi-final, 6 June. Beautiful setting, lovely evening and a cracking pastel de nata in Widcombe before the game. 2) Bordeaux v Northampton, Champions Cup final, 24 May.

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Robert Kitson

Michael Cheika, the Leicester head coach, took issue with the officiating after his side’s playoff final defeat by Bath, describing the late yellow card shown to Dan Cole after an aerial collision with Finn Russell as “embarrassing for the game” and “hardly even a penalty”. The Australian was also less than impressed with how the scrum was refereed. “I’ve never seen it before in my life, dominating like that and getting nothing, zero. In fact, getting penalised against.

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Robert Kitson

There was barely a cloud in the clear summer sky in south-west London and blue was also the primary colour on the field. For the first time in 29 years, Bath are the champions of England and any debate about the big-game nerve of Johann van Graan’s multi-talented squad can now be quietly laid to rest alongside Leicester’s shredded dreams. Bath will have some idea of how their old rivals are feeling, having suffered a similarly agonising fate against Northampton in last year’s final.

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Robert Kitson

It has been a while but the old firm of English club rugby are finally back. Between 1978 and 1997 Bath and Leicester collectively won 15 national knockout trophies and over the first 15 years of the league’s existence they claimed 12 titles between them. Their reunion at Twickenham is akin to those other 90s chart-toppers, Oasis and Blur, dusting down their favourite guitars and appearing on stage together.

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Robert Kitson

Is it a bird or a plane? No, it’s probably “SuperTed”. If Bath win this year’s Premiership final the chances are their rangy, athletic flanker Ted Hill will have played a prominent role. This week his captain Ben Spencer called him a “freak” and various seasoned judges have compared him with illustrious former back-rowers ranging from Kieran Read and Jerome Kaino to Pierre Spies and Tom Croft.