Next, with a scrum awarded to Bath, the ball was passed rapidly out by Claassens, finding Andy Beattie who made a strong drive forward.  The Tigers managed to steal the ball and kicked it the wrong side of the halfway line for Bath, followed by a further chip that saw the ball fall into touch in the top corner.

After a demonstration of rapid passing by both teams, increasing the tension at the Rec and raising the excitement of the fans, the Tigers were awarded a further penalty which took them up to a three point lead after 24 minutes, which was followed four minutes later by a try by full back Sam Vesty.

It was not long before Bath responded to Tiger’s eight point lead, as Ryan Davis executed a penalty and the Tigers, having also been awarded a penalty, failed to slot the ball between the posts.

Tension was high as the ball soared from wing to wing, finding Nick Abendanon who punched a whole in the defence, sprinting up the wing and landing mere inches away from the try line.  He was followed by Tom Cheeseman who seconds later attempt to ground the ball, but it was not until the 40th minute that Bath were awarded a penalty try and Davis’s conversion saw Bath with a tight two-point lead at half-time.

One minute into the second half saw Leicester awarded with a penalty and as the Bath fans began to celebrate that the ball was going to fall short, it just clipped the post and tipped over for a further three points to the Tigers. 

Club captain Steve Borthwick, raring to get back on the pitch after returning from the Rugby World Cup, punched a hole in the defence by driving the ball to within feet of the try line. The ball remained in the Tiger’s danger zone and inches away from the line for three more minutes before Leicester were able to clear.

Matt Banahan, having only entered the pitch in place of Michael Stephenson seconds before, didn’t waste time rampaging down the wing, palming off the attempted defence of the Tigers.  He made his way over the try line to the jubilation of crowd, but having not grounded the ball, no try was awarded.   

The final ten minutes kept the crowd on the edge of their seats as the Tigers made an aggressive drive in an attempt to increase the marginal one-point lead.  With Nick Abendanon spotting a chance to break away, he launched towards the midfield, and as the ball shot towards Bath’s, Crockett, the centre took it over the line to add a further five points to the scoreboard.  Berne’s conversion secured the six point lead and Bath walked away victorious, having sent the Tigers home with their tails between their legs.  Final score 20 – 14 to Bath.

Scorers:

Bath:
3. Pen, Davis (3)
30. Pen Davis (6)
38. Pen Try, conv Davis (13)
69. Try, Crockett, conv Berne (20)

Leicester:
6. Pen, Humphreys (3)
24. Pen, Humphreys (6)
26. Try, Vesty (11)
42. Pen, Humphreys (14)

Bath:

15. Nick Abendanon 14. Andy Higgins 13. Alex Crockett 12. Tom Cheeseman 11. Michael Stephenson (58, M Banahan) 10. Ryan Davis (51, Berne) 9. Michael Claassens 1. David Flatman 2. Rob Hawkins 3. Paulica Ion 4. Steve Borthwick (c) 5. Peter Short 6. Andy Beattie 7. James Scaysbrook (55, J Faamatuainu) 8. Daniel Browne

Replacements:
16. Neil Clarke 17. Laurence Ovens 18. Martin Purdy 19. Jonny Faamatuainu 20. Nick Walshe 21. Shaun Berne 22. Matt Banahan

Leicester:
 
15. Sam Vesty 14. Johne Murphy 13. Ayoola Erinle 12. Matt Cornwell (43, T Youngs) 11. Tom Varndell 10. Ian Humphreys 9. Frank Murphy 1. Dan Cole (43, M Ayerza) 2. Mefin Davies (c) 3. Dave Young (43, Moreno) 4. Richard Blaze (52, J Hamilton) 5. Marco Wentzel 6. Tom Croft 7. Luke Abraham 8. Jordan Crane

Replacements:
16. Gavin Hickie 17. Marcos Ayerza 18. Alex Moreno 19. James Hamilton 20. Ben Herring 21. Tom Youngs 22. Ben Youngs
 

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