The scoreline wasn’t a complete reflection of the game as the Blue, Black and Whites ran the in-form league leaders close for the entire match with little moments within the 80 minutes, such as discipline, proving decisive.

Following an early George Ford penalty for Leicester, Bath scored a sensational try which was a combination of what the team have been working on in training since pre-season.

Danny Cipriani’s beautifully delayed pass set Tom Dunn bounding through a gap and the hooker’s out-the-backdoor offload allowed Ollie Fox to scamper on. The scrum-half found centre Max Clark in support and he managed to power his way to the line, placing the ball with two hands.

Tigers returned with an immediate response. Will Muir was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on – a decision that could have gone either way – and with an extra man, Leicester rallied the troops to march Nic Dolly across the whitewash.

Ford and Cipriani exchanged penalties throughout the half, but Matt Scott collected a Dan Kelly pass to drive over from the 22 and ensure the hosts lead 20-13 at half-time.

Blue, Black and White captain Josh McNally had a try disallowed for double movement just before the interval but continued to lead from the front for Stuart Hooper’s side. His efforts were rewarded on 52 minutes as he barged past a strong Leicester defence to dot down for five points.

It kept Bath in touching distance, however Leicester showed why they were the Premiership’s top outfit at the moment by scoring two further tries. First, Ford scooted over from Richard Wigglesworth’s miss-pass following a good defensive set from Bath which thwarted the home team.

Then in the closing stages, Bath went down to 14 due to a yellow card shown to Kieran Verden and Leicester replacement hooker Tom Cowan-Dickie flopped over to seal a try bonus-point.

GALLERY

Junior Match Report: Leicester Tigers 40-23 Bath Rugby

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