Classy Faletau proves he is back to his best
Taulupe Faletau’s late knock was a brief moment of concern for Bath and Wales, but the No 8 proved he is ready for the start of the Six Nations as his team recorded a crucial win.
Victory was the most important thing for home director of rugby Stuart Hooper and two tries from Tom Homer – which book-ended the game – enabled his team to achieve just that.
Faletau continued his comeback with a third appearance of the season. He left the field late on, but will meet up with Wales this week ahead of their clash with Italy on Saturday.
In the past 18 months the 29-year-old has suffered two broken arms and a collarbone problem. The latter forced the Lions back row to miss the World Cup. He has not played Test rugby since March 2018, but showed his quality at the Rec with some deft touches to earn the praise of Hooper, while Bath remain in the hunt for a top-four spot.
Hooper said: “Taulupe is fine. He had a couple of bumps and bruises, but he’s put his body on the line so he’s absolutely exhausted. He wants to do well for the team and he’s a bit beaten up. It was brilliant for him to go out there and get virtually 80 minutes.”
This encounter was low on quality, but it was also a game Bath would have lost last season. For Leicester it was yet another defeat, with the Tigers failing to take their chances.
Bath’s star man, Homer, grabbed his first try after being set up by Jackson Willison and Max Wright, sending the full-back into the left corner.
Aled Brew came in as a late replacement for Ruaridh McConnochie, who was injured in the warm-up, but he was then forced off with a head injury. Freddie Burns came on and moved to full-back as Homer shifted to the wing.
Tom Hardwick kicked a goal after constant Tigers pressure which would have resulted in a try had it not been for impressive defence from Bath.
A first half low on quality did not improve after the break. Rhys Priestland kicked a penalty, but when Bath’s Josh Bayliss was shown a yellow card for pulling down a Leicester drive, the Tigers sensed blood.
After constant pressure, scrum-half Ben White got the ball down on the line from close range and Hardwick converted.
Bath won it when Priestland’s sublime long pass found Homer, who still had plenty of work to do. He beat Telusa Veainu’s poor tackle and finished acrobatically in the corner.
“It was a slow start for the second week in a row and it ’s something we will have to look at,” said Leicester head coach Geordan Murphy. “We started poorly and it was a turgid game – nip and tuck.”