All-change Leicester Tigers sink in Bath to heap more pressure on coach Marcelo Loffreda

 Add your view

Bath piled the pressure on Leicester coach Marcelo Loffreda with a win that leaves the Tigers struggling to make the play-offs.

Loffreda has been feeling the wrath of the fans after his side's defeat by Ospreys in last Saturday's EDF Energy Cup final.

He made 14 changes from the team that lost to Ospreys on Saturday, bringing in big guns such as prop Julian White and England wing Tom Varndell. But they had little effect as Bath scored three tries in the opening half.

First England tight-head prop Matt Stevens went charging over the line inside the opening five minutes.

And, as the Tigers misfired, Bath had a couple more chances to hammer home the advantage, only for England international duo Lee Mears and Danny Grewcock to drop the ball with the line in their sights.

It took all of Leicester's guile just to break out of their half and mount some sort of opposition to an increasingly irresistible home XV.

If things were not bad enough, as Bath's South African fly-half Butch James booted a penalty to put his side 8-0 up, they were about to get worse for Leicester.

Only once in the first half-hour had they even entered the home 22. The tackle count on the Tigers' part was climbing high but they soon found themselves down to 14 men as centre Ayoola Erinle was punished with a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on.

James, who was playing his first game since January after dislocating a shoulder against Saracens, added another penalty.

Samoan flanker Jonny Fa'amatuainu should have scored as he crossed the line with the ball in hand but a bit of over-flamboyance saw him knock on.

England hooker Mears, though, made no mistake minutes later as Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, a constant thorn in the side of backs Matt Cornwell, Erinle and wing Ollie Dodge, sent centre Alex Crockett towards the right corner. Stevens threw out a pass from the recycled ball five metres from the Tigers try-line for Mears to find a gap and go under the posts.

On the stroke of half-time, winger Matt Banahan scored an extraordinary touchdown. Bath's pack pinned the Tigers on their line and the England prospect used all of his 6ft 7in frame to stretch over the ruck and put the ball over the line.

Within five minutes of the re-start James scored from a penalty after a scrum infringement under the posts. Leicester scored when fly half Ian Humphreys delicately chipped over the head of the home defence and in the closing minutes Johne Murphy added another, which Humphreys converted.

 

What's on today   What's on tomorrow

Receive our newsletter