Bath clean up against Tigers
Bath are closing in on a place in the Guinness Premiership play-offs after a 26-5 victory over Leicester at Rec.
Last Updated: 15/04/08 10:08pm
Bath are closing in on a place in the Guinness Premiership play-offs after a 26-12 victory over Leicester at Rec.
Tries from Matt Banahan, Matt Stevens and Lee Mears proved decisive for the home side as they moved alongside Harlequins on 59 points.
At the same time Bath were able to dent the title ambitions of the Tigers, who slip to sixth place, two points adrift of Wasps in fourth.
Aided by the sin-binning of the visitors' Aroola Erinle, Bath racked up a 20-point lead without reply in a one-sided first half and extended it with a Butch James penalty early in the second.
Ian Humphreys put Leicester's first points on the board and later converted Frank Murphy's try, but by then Bath were home and dry.
Eclipsed
Just three days after suffering an emphatic defeat against EDF Energy Cup final opponents the Ospreys at Twickenham, a much-changed Tigers side was similarly eclipsed.
Butch James returned to the Bath line-up for his first start since suffering a dislocated shoulder more than 11 weeks ago, while six England forwards featured in a powerful home pack.
Leicester fielded a solitary survivor from Twickenham in lock Ben Kay, who captained the side, with internationals Martin Corry and Aaron Mauger among those on bench duty.
Bath made a blistering start, monopolising possession from the kick-off, and that pressure was rewarded with a try inside three minutes.
Samoan centre Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu blasted through two attempted tackles, and although Tigers' defence kept him out, Bath easily worked space for Stevens to crash over.
James missed the conversion - he made amends by slotting a 15th-minute penalty - and had Bath kept their composure in attack, Leicester would have been finished inside the opening quarter.
Tigers spent its entire duration pinned deep inside their own half, struggling to withstand a fiercely-sustained Bath onslaught.
Tigers frustrated
And it came as no surprise when Leicester resorted to illegal means as they grew increasingly frustrated by an ability to gain a foothold in the contest.
Centre Erinle was sin-binned for a technical infringement, with James booting the resulting penalty, before Bath blew a gilt-edged chance four minutes before half-time.
The impressive Fuimaono-Sapolu sprinted into space, before quickly recycled possession left flanker Jonny Faamatuainu with what appeared to be a simple scoring opportunity.
But he was adjudged to have knocked on as he dived over the line, handing Leicester a remarkable reprieve.
With Erinle still off though, Bath effectively ended the game as a contest by adding two further tries that rewarded an overwhelming degree of control.
Mears powered through an inviting gap in Leicester's defence for a touchdown that James converted, then deep into first-half injury time Banahan pounced.
James failed to add the extras, but a 23-0 interval lead left Bath one try short of a bonus point and Leicester in disarray.
Humphreys' clever kick-and-catch saw Leicester open the second-half scoring, and they enjoyed far greater control and cohesion during a third quarter that saw them keep Bath scoreless.
Corry's arrival underpinned a far more organised Tigers effort, and Bath boss Steve Meehan made a triple change 12 minutes from time - including sending on England back Olly Barkley - in an attempt to raise the tempo.
But scrum-half Michael Claassens was then sin-binned for hands in the ruck, suggesting a bonus point score might prove out of reach after all.
And when Banahan received a yellow card for holding back Murphy off the ball, Bath found themselves down to 13 men.
Leicester looked to take advantage of Bath's two-man deficit, yet poor communication between Corry and Kay forfeited a promising attacking position, before substitute number eight Jordan Crane spilled a straightforward pass that epitomised Tigers' night as the rain fell.
Murphy though, then crossed for a controversial try - the touch judge appeared to rule Tom Croft had been tackled into touch before he delivered a scoring pass - that Humphreys converted.
