Bath coach Steve Meehan is looking forward to renewing his team's 'special rivalry' with Leicester.
Coach looking forward to renewing 'special' relationship
Bath coach Steve Meehan is looking forward to renewing his team's 'special rivalry' with Leicester after they booked a play-off trip to the Tigers on Saturday.
Bath defeated Saracens 33-18 at the Rec to deny their opponents the possibility of qualifying for next year's Heineken Cup by finishing seventh in the Premiership, and can now look forward to a trip to the Walkers Stadium.
Leicester knocked their old rivals out of the Heineken Cup two weeks ago and Meehan is looking forward to the chance of swift revenge.
"We were at Leicester not so very long ago, and the memory of that game is still very much alive," he said.
"There is something special about Leicester v Bath, and it is not difficult to get immersed in that history between the clubs."
Bath saw off an indisciplined Saracens side - the visitors had three players yellow-carded - courtesy of tries by Andrew Higgins, Peter Short and Matt Banahan, while fly-half Ryan Davis kicked 18 points.
"It seemed to me that Saracens faced their first-half on emotion, and they had a number of players in the sin bin as a result," Meehan added.
"We weren't expecting anything to be easy today, but you can't afford to be down to 14 men at any stage in a competition like this one."
Opposite number Richard Graham was pleased with his side's performance considering their three yellow cards, and will now turn his attentions to the Challenge Cup and next week's semi-final clash with Northampton.
"I thought we ran Bath pretty close," he said. "Seventh spot was up for grabs today, and we now have an opportunity to play in our first final for 11 years if we win next week.
"I thought the boys were outstanding today - I was delighted with their efforts".
