Stuart Barnes writing in The Times is looking forward to the Premiership semi-finals and the rekindling of one of the great local rivalries - Leicester v Bath
"This is the Guinness Premiership semi-final with real heft. Before Wasps emerged as a great force of the English professional age these were the two great powerhouses. The rivalry dimmed ever-so-slightly with Wasps' rise but this season, with the sting from Wycombe gone, the old rivalry has exploded into life once more.
It was only a few weeks ago that Leicester and Bath seemed destined for the extra time that the Tigers endured in Cardiff last Sunday. An error bred of excessive ambition (the curse of Bath this season) by their sole Lions representative, the normally excellent Lee Mears, gave the Tigers one last chance. That was all it took and now the Tigers are eighty minutes from domestic and European finals while Bath could see their season, which promised so much for so long, ending in ashes.
The dividing line between success and failure has been thin when these teams have collided this season, with the count thus far reading Leicester 2 Bath 1. The Tigers outplayed Bath at the Recreation Ground before a last-gasp comeback resulted in a Butch James try to win the match. In the league rematch James was imperious and Bath toyed with the Tigers but they didn’t finish them off and, sure enough, Welford Road roared and the bite – though delayed – was fatal. The Tiger to administer it was Tom Croft, who was wonderful for Leicester that day, as he has been so often."
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