Bath were dragged back into the Zurich Premiership relegation dogfight with a
timid display on Saturday.
While bottom club Newcastle were achieving a crucial home victory over
Harlequins, Bath caught champions Leicester on an error-strewn off day and
failed to capitalise.
In the first half, the usually efficient Leicester misfired but the mistakes
came thick and fast from both sides.
Olly Barkley kicked Bath ahead with a 10th-minute penalty after Leicester
ventured off-side and an episode of farce presented right-wing Simon Danielli
with the try which put the hosts 8-0 ahead.
Geordan Murphy, after collecting Gareth Cooper's kick, first shaped to kick
and then threw out a hasty pass.
Leon Lloyd appeared to have rescued the situation but he attempted a sloppy
pass and all Danielli had to do was collect the ball to run in a simple try.
Leicester had already squandered their own best chances.
They conceded a penalty at a dangerous line-out almost on the Bath line after
a one-handed pass from Murphy to Martin Johnson sparked a six-man move which
stretched the home side almost to breaking point.
Then, after fly-half Sam Vesty and Ollie Smith combined, the centre's pass
fell behind the unfortunate Lloyd.
Cold hands and bright sunlight could not be blamed for all the errors and Bath
seemed intent on keeping the champions in the game.
Five minutes after Danielli's try, they handed Leicester an equally generous
gift.
Mike Catt, playing fly-half in only his second full match back from injury,
did his hopes of an England recall no favours with a slack pass that Leicester
lock Ben Kay intercepted and strode away on a 45-metre run.
Kay shrugged off the efforts of wing Danielli and full-back Matt Perry to stop
him as he homed in on the post to leave Murphy an easy conversion.
But the general sloppiness even extended to the usually reliable goal
kickers.
Barkley missed four opportunities including a simple one in front of the post
just before half-time.
Murphy also missed penalties for Leicester at the start of each half and they
suffered further misery when England skipper Johnson was consigned to the sin
bin for five minutes either side of half-time for collapsing a maul.
Bath failed to take advantage of his absence and had a let-off when Murphy
missed his third penalty attempt in the 57th minute.
The second half was better than the first but when Leicester finally took the
lead for the first time in the 63rd minute, even that resulted handling errors
deep in their own half.
The ball was eventually snapped up by Murphy who embarked on a 70-metre run
into Bath territory.
The move ended when Bath were caught off-side and fly-half Vesty, taking over
the kicking duties while Murphy received treatment, landed the easy penalty.
Murphy recovered to grab Leicester's second try in the 71st minute but Vesty
missed the conversion.
Bath mounted a final surge but Leicester are not the team to surrender an
advantage and left-wing Fereti Tuilagi rounded off a fine performance by making
the mark under pressure as he caught a dangerous kick into the corner on the
Leicester line.
Teams:
Bath: Perry, Danielli, Maggs, Davy, Barkley, Catt,
Cooper,
Barnes, Humphries, Mallett, Borthwick, Grewcock, Beattie,
Vander, N. Thomas.
Not Used: A. Williams, Mears, Galasso, Voyce, Crockett,
G. Thomas, Emms.
Tries: Danielli.
Pens: Barkley.
Leicester: Murphy, Lloyd, Smith,
Kafer, Tuilagi, Vesty,
J. Hamilton, Rowntree, West, Garforth, M. Johnson, Kay, Moody,
Back, Corry.
Not Used: Chuter, Balding, Tournaire, Kronfeld, Booth, Tierney,
Gelderbloom.
Tries: Kay, Murphy.
Cons: Murphy.
Pens: Vesty
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