Bath Hold On To Beat Champions Leicester
100 years on from the two sides first ever meeting Bath managed to hold on through the storm of a Leicester fight back to secure a 27-20 win at the Recreational Ground.
Former Leicester fly half, George Ford, kicked 17 points for the home side propelling Bath to a surprise first victory of their season.
Bath had an incredible 21-3 lead at half time after towering winger Matt Banahan scored before the break, with two Tigers in the sin bin.
Leicester responded with three tries from Mafi, Slater and Goneva but Bath managed to hold on for the win through the boot of Ford.
Leicester opened the scoring early on with a penalty from French scrum-half David Mele. Ford then replied with his first penalty of the day to level the scores 3-3.
It was Leicester who began their own downfall with a looping pass from Ryan Lamb being intercepted by centre Jonathan Joseph on the 20 minute mark, which he sprinted away from the touch down under the posts.
Ford further extended the lead with another two penalties, before Banahan crossed the line just before the half to give the home side a 21-3 lead.
After the break Leicester cut the deficit with their first try of the game, as flanker Steve Mafi broke away to touch the ball down.
Tigers dominated the next quarter of play and again touched the ball down after 62 minutes; continually stretching the Bath defence before Ed Slater crossed the line. Mele converted the try making the scores 21-15 with less than twenty minutes remaining.
Tigers came even closer, within 4 points, as good work from Youngs and Thompstone was converted by Goneva, who crossed the line.
However, a stunning Leicester fight back, that had seemed on the cards since the half time whistle was eventually silenced by a late George Ford penalty; rewarding Bath with their second win of the season.
The young fly half admitted that "It wasn't about me playing against Leicester; it was about Bath against Leicester,” when he spoke to BBC Sport.
"I just wanted to come and play, and thankfully I've had four or five games in a row now, including pre-season.
"I will try to keep my head down, keep working hard in training and see where it takes us.
"It was a tough game. We lost a bit of intensity in the second half and Leicester came back at us.
"We knew Leicester would come back, and we probably didn't grasp hold of the game well enough at the start of the second half.
"One of their biggest strengths is how fit they are, and they were still hammering away in the 78th and 79th minutes."
Leicester will look to return to their winning ways when they welcome Newcastle Falcons to Welford Road next Saturday. On the other hand, Bath will look to continue their perfect season so far with another win, but they face the daunting prospect of an impressive Saracens side at Allianz Park on Sunday.
Line-Ups:
Bath: Watson; Rokoduguni, Joseph, Henson, Banahan; Ford, Stringer; James, Webber, Wilson, Hooper (capt), Attwood, Garvey, Mercer, Houston.
Replacements: Day for Hooper (49), Young for Stringer (49), Catt for James (50), Perenise for Wilson (50), Fa'osiliva for Mercer (61), Batty, Heathcote, Biggs.
Leicester Tigers: Morris; Hamilton, Goneva, Allen (capt), Thompstone; Lamb, Mele; Mulipola, Youngs, Cole, Slater, De Chaves, Mafi, Salvi, Crane.
Replacements: Bowden for Hamilton (49), Waldrom for Mafi (62), Williams for Morris (63), Gibson for Crane (72), Briggs, Stankovich, Balmain, Harrison.
