'It's the last dance' - Departures spurring Tigers on

Dan Cole (left) and Ben Youngs both came off the bench to make their final home appearance in the semi-final win against Sale last week

What does Air Jordan, a comic book anti-hero, and a set of legendary departing Leicester Tigers players have in common?

They have all starred in a blockbuster 'last dance'.

It was the theme of basketball legend Michael Jordan's final glorious season with the Chicago Bulls in 1997-98, and title of the docuseries that chronicled his career.

The final film in the Venom trilogy, starring Tom Hardy, got the same treatment when it was put up in Hollywood lights last year.

Now Leicester are on English club rugby's biggest stage at Twickenham on Saturday to try to give a triumphant send-off to a cast of Tigers icons.

It has gone unsaid among players, but it has been acknowledged as "the last dance".

Ben Youngs, a five-time Premiership winner with Tigers, and Dan Cole, who has four league crowns on his own CV, will both retire at full-time.

They go out together as the two most capped men in English international history.

Their long-time England team-mate Mike Brown - a two-time Premiership winner with Harlequins who has been at Tigers since early 2023 – will also bow out at the same time.

Captain Julian Montoya will also leave the East Midlands side, as will two-time World Cup-winning South African fly-half Handre Pollard and decorated head coach Michael Cheika.

While Leicester's Australian boss has played down the significance of what will be the final 80 minutes for some of the club's finest servants, the players themselves have felt the impact.

England scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet, who has been Youngs' successor for club and country, says it has "100% been an element" that has spurred them on.

"It's not been something that we have really said out loud much, we don't say it before games, but we all know," he told BBC Radio Leicester.

"We look at each other and go 'right, it's their last dance'.

"You have got legends there, two especially, that you properly want to do it for because they deserve it for what they have given to the club and the fans.

"They deserve a proper send-off with a win and a trophy. It is something that has gone unsaid, but I definitely feel part of it and I'm sure a lot of the boys do as well."

Tigers will be looking to win a record-extending 12th Premiership title against a Bath side that finished 11 points clear at the top of the table at the end of the regular season.

Van Poortvliet is set to feature in his first Grand Final, having been left out when Leicester dramatically beat Saracens in the 2022 decider.

Full-back Freddie Steward started that game as a 21-year-old and says the impending departure of key players has united the side in much the same way as it did three years ago.

"There are these sub-plots that galvanise a team and bring your team together," he said.

"We've obviously got Coley retiring, Lenny [Youngs] retiring, Julian is off, Polly is off and they are lads that are a massive part of this team.

"You almost want to do it even more for them. You do it for the fans, the coaches and your family but more so than ever this season, it is for each other as well.

"We want to give those lads a send-off and you can probably see in the back-end of the season the difference that has made.

"The lads are fighting harder than ever and there is like a desperate-ness to want to be there at Twickenham on Saturday. And yeah, we will get a shot."