Bath to play Leicester at Twickenham in regular season ‘home’ game

Home from home: Anthony Watson at the launch of Bath’s initiative to play in the capital
Matt Majendie @mattmajendie22 September 2016

Bath Rugby have committed to playing a ‘home’ game every season in London for the next five years.

Billed as ‘The Clash’, the Premiership leaders will temporarily relocate 115 miles from the Rec to play the inaugural game against Leicester Tigers at Twickenham on April 8. Bath are confident they can pull in as many as 50,000 spectators for the fixture they have billed as a “classic rivalry”.

Bath and England’s Anthony Watson hailed the Twickenham contest as “a dream come true for the players”, telling Standard Sport: “It’s exciting for us to play at Twickenham and particularly great for the guys that haven’t played there before. To be able to do that every season for a regular season game is fantastic.”

Watson, who is expected to feature for England in the autumn series against South Africa, Argentina, Fiji and Australia, described the venue as a “home from home for me”, adding: “I love that stadium and growing up it was the only place I dreamed of playing. I look forward to every time I step foot on that pitch.

“But for Bath, I think this will really lift the players. Everyone’s going to really push to be involved in that game, to play at Twickenham in a Bath jersey. It’s great for the players and great for the club as well.”

Bath admitted they had been in discussions for some time about the possibility of becoming the first non-London side to host a home game in the capital.

Managing director Tarquin McDonald admitted the number of Bath fans that attended the Premiership Final in 2015, combined with Wasps’ relocation to Coventry, had acted as a precursor to the move.

“I think the Wasps move provided an opportunity and it’s fair to say there’s a little less congestion in London rugby now,” he said. “Bath v Leicester is just a classic rivalry, one with a lot of history behind it.

“We’re still a south-west club but two seasons ago in the Premiership Final it felt like three-quarters of Twickenham was blue, black and white. We’ve found a lot of fans in the capital, judging by social media.

“There’s a real interest here in following Bath. It’s an opportunity for people that don’t get the chance to see us. We want this to be a big part of the fixture list going forward.”

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