Williams rips Bath apart to impress Eddie
LEICESTER’S biggame hunter from Zimbabwe, Mike Williams, led a demolition of Bath’s unbeaten record at Welford Road yesterday to take another momentous stride towards a Test debut for England.
Eddie Jones, the national coach, was in attendance to observe the revival of the Tigers’ formidable home reputation after they were ambushed here by Wasps a fortnight earlier. The Australian will have relished the sight of Williams throwing his weight about on his way to another man of the match award.
The 24-year- old is on course to thrust himself into contention to earn a first cap during the November matches against South Africa, Fiji, Argentina and Australia. He qualifies through a grandfather from Sussex.
What he offered yesterday was the sort of power and aggression which was a hallmark of this Leicester victory — one that takes them up to fourth in the Aviva Premiership table, one place behind the visitors.
‘We showed the heart to get off the line, smack them and win that up front battle,’ said Williams.
‘Welford Road is an unbelievable place to play and we knew the pressure on ourselves after not being good enough so far. It shows the heart this team has to pull out a performance like that.’
Richard Cockerill, the Tigers’ director of rugby, paid cautious tribute to his influential blindside.
‘He’s still finding his fitness again but he’s a big bloke, he’s physical and he scares people. It’s his second full match this season and there are parts of his game which need to get better. His soft touches could improve, but his hard touches are pretty good!’
Jones was denied the opportunity to watch Jonathan Joseph. Bath director of rugby Todd Blackadder said: ‘He got a knock on his thigh in training. He was touch and go but it wasn’t worth risking him.’
There was still plenty for the England head coach to savour. George Ford played with a majestic assurance in the first half with his subtle and varied tactical kicking. However, he was off target in two shots at the posts and was relentlessly pressurised by the swarming Leicester defence in the second half.
The Tigers pack was at full throttle. Both locks, Mike Fitzgerald and Graham Kitchener, were heavily involved in the onslaught up front, while rookie England prop Ellis Genge made another striking impact from the bench.
Owen Williams amassed 17 points with the boot for Leicester and Cockerill rightly praised the balance in their efforts yesterday, the blend of ferocity and flair.
Their first try came from a lineout steal by Mike Williams, before the outstanding Peter Betham burst clear and released Telusa Veainu, whose inside pass allowed Brendon O’Connor to round off a sweeping counter-attack.
After the break, the Leicester forwards blasted over from a lineout drive for Tom Youngs to score and Ed Slater touched down in similar fashion two minutes from time. For Bath, their first try showcased Semesa Rokoduguni’s aerial and finishing skills, as the wing beat JP Pietersen to a high kick and slalomed away to score.
Tom Dunn struck later from a quick lineout. Blackadder was not demoralised, saying: ‘We fronted up and I’m proud of the effort but our execution wasn’t good enough and we gave away too many penalties.’