A try in the fifth minute of added time by Harry Ellis, who squeezed over in the corner after darting off the back of a five-metre scrum, enabled Leicester to emerge with a draw from a pulsating and highly physical contest. A successful conversion by Ross Broadfoot would have given Leicester victory but that would have been mighty harsh on Bath, who defended magnificently throughout.
'We weren't far short of nicking it at the end, which might have been a travesty from Bath's point of view,' said John Wells, the Leicester head coach. 'They did a great job of closing us down and didn't give us anything.' Still, the two points that Leicester gleaned were enough to put them clear of Sale at the top of the table.
Leicester, of course, were attempting to secure a try-scoring bonus point for an unprecedented fifth successive match, which is a just reflection of the outstanding 15-man rugby they have been playing this season. The cornerstone of their revival has been unequivocal dominance up front, although that is not to decry the efforts of some talented three-quarters who have prospered under the direction of backs' coach Pat Howard. Martin Johnson and Neil Back, freed from the pressures of international rugby, have been omnipotent, while Martin Corry has been making a compelling case to replace the Lawrence Dallaglio as England's No 8.
Mind you, Bath have been no slouches up front in recent weeks either, as they demonstrated at the Rec last Saturday when they dismantled Gloucester. Wells described the Bath pack yesterday as 'by far the most combative set of forwards we have faced this season', and it was magnificent to watch two evenly matched packs slugging it out as they did. The front-row battle was sufficient in itself to set the juices running.
After repelling some strong early phases from Leicester, Bath were on the scoreboard within five minutes, although Robbie Fleck's scoring pass to Michael Lipman looked suspiciously forward. With Olly Barkley adding a penalty, Bath were 10 points to the good in as many minutes, and although they shaded the remainder of the first period Leicester were unable to make an impression in the danger areas. The manner in which Isaac Fea'unati and his Bath cohorts successfully defended four successive five-metre scrums just before half-time was courage and technique of the highest order.
A Geordan Murphy penalty shortly after the break, which the Irishman rapidly supplemented with a touchdown in the corner following some slick handling, offered Leicester some succour but Bath continued to blunt the Tigers' best attacking endeavours.
More than that, the visiting side extended their lead to 16-8 on the hour when Barkley dropped a goal before a Broadfoot penalty with three minutes of normal time remaining heralded the grandstand finish.
Leicester: Murphy; Holtby, Smith, Rabeni (Hipkiss 80), Vesty; Broadfoot, Ellis; Rowntree, Chuter, White (Morris 50), M Johnson (capt), Kay, B Deacon (W Johnson 53), Back, Corry.
Bath: Best; Higgins, Fleck, Tindall, Daniel; Barkley (Malone 80), Wood; Barnes (Stevens 52), Humphreys (capt), Bell (Barnes 79), Borthwick, Grewcock, Beattie, Lipman (Scaysbrook 80), Fea'unati.
Referee: C White.
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