LEICS
No.Name
15Telusa Veainu, FB
14Nick Malouf, W
13Manu Tuilagi, C
T
12Matt To'omua, C
11Jonny May, W
T
2
10George Ford, FH
2
9Ben Youngs, SH
1Ellis Genge, P
2Tom Youngs, H
3Logovi'i Mulipola, P
4Dom Barrow, L
5Graham Kitchener, L
6Dominic Ryan, FL
7Brendon O'Connor, FL
8Sione Kalamafoni, N8
Replacements
16Harry Thacker, R
17Greg Bateman, R
18Dan Cole, R
19Mike Williams, R
20Luke Hamilton, R
21Sam Harrison, R
22Joe Ford, R
23Mathew Tait, R

*Players currently on the pitch are shown in bold

Game Info

Venue: Mattioli Woods Welford Road Stadium
3:00 PM, September 3, 2017
All CommentaryKey Events

Match Commentary

81'23-27 End of second half
80'Fotuali'i is back on to give Bath 13 men and they steal the lineout.

Priestland boots the ball out and Leicester have won at Welford Road for the first time since 2003! What an opening weekend this has been.
80'A great restart from Priestland has Tigers penned deep in their own half. Veainu breaks clear, Banahan makes the tackle but is shown a yellow card as he infringes following it.
80'Yellow card - Matt Banahan , Bath Rugby
79'Ford nails a much more difficult conversion from the touch line and Bath have just over a minute to hold out. Leicester need a try to win.
79'23-27 Conversion - George Ford , Leicester Tigers
78'TRY! May dives in on the left wing following almost two minutes of incessant Tigers pressure on the Bath line.
78'21-27 Try - Jonny May , Leicester Tigers
76'Leicester take the lineout but are knocked back by Bath.
76'Yellow card. Bath are down to 13 as Garvey walks for another high tackle. Penalty to Leicester and Ford boots to the corner.
76'Yellow card - Matt Garvey , Bath Rugby
75'Jeers from the crowd as Bath again are guilty of a couple of high tackles.
74'Priestland boots the kick off out on the full. That's a blot on an otherwise faultless afternoon for the fly-half.
74'Well, well. Ford pulls his conversion and the hosts are still 11 points behind.
74'Player substituted - Elliott Stooke , Bath Rugby
74'Substitute on - James Phillips , Bath Rugby
74'Substitute on - Ben Tapuai , Bath Rugby
74'Player substituted - Max Clark , Bath Rugby
74'Substitute on - Luke Hamilton , Leicester Tigers
74'Player substituted - Brendon O'Connor , Leicester Tigers
74'Substitute on - Sam Harrison , Leicester Tigers
74'Player substituted - Ben Youngs , Leicester Tigers
73'TRY! May is over for his first Leicester try. But he made hard work of it - Veainu plays him in on the left wing, but the England man tries to run it under the posts and Watson almost holds him up. Incredible passage of play in Leicester.
73'16-27 Try - Jonny May , Leicester Tigers
72'
71'Moments later Brendon O'Connor is streaking towards the corner but again Leicester manage to butcher the opportunity.
71'Ben Youngs bursts clear into the Bath 22. Graham Kitchener is on his shoulder but he cannot gather the pass when it looked a certain try.
70'Yellow card. Kahn Fotuali'i hasn't been on long, and he's off for 10 minutes as he throws out a stray arm to try and stop Ford. That looks harsh, but it is the fourth Bath high tackle of the match.
70'Yellow card - Kahn Fotuali'i , Bath Rugby
69'Thanks to good work from May and Ford, among others, Leicester find themselves closing on the Bath line. But they lose the ball and Clark can boot downfield.

Watson hares after it but is unable to get there first.
67'Leicester in possession on halfway and looking to pick holes in the Bath defence.
65'Thacker tries to take advantage of the Leicester drive from five metres out but Faletau gets himself in the way and helps to force the free kick.
65'Substitute on - Kahn Fotuali'i , Bath Rugby
65'Player substituted - Chris Cook , Bath Rugby
64'Penalty to Leicester as Cook kicks the ball away from the ruck. The Bath scrum-half falling foul of the new laws.
63'
63'Player substituted - Ellis Genge , Leicester Tigers
63'Substitute on - Greg Bateman , Leicester Tigers
63'Substitute on - Mike Williams , Leicester Tigers
63'Player substituted - Dominic Ryan , Leicester Tigers
63'11-27 Penalty goal - Rhys Priestland , Bath Rugby
62'Penalty to Bath following the scrum and they will take the points.
62'
62'Substitute on - Paul Grant , Bath Rugby
62'Player substituted - Francois Louw , Bath Rugby
61'Bath set the drive from the lineout, but despite charges for the line from Perenise, Charteris and Garvey the visitors are held up.
60'Brilliant kick off chase from Rokoduguni and Bath have the ball five metres from the Leicester line. Tigers are caught offside, penalty to Bath that Priestland kicks into the corner.
59'11-24 Penalty goal - George Ford , Leicester Tigers
57'Ford shows excellent feet to make a few yards, before Ben Youngs evades the Bath defence to take Leicester into the 22. He is stopped by a high tackle from Priestland, and as their possession slows up Pearce comes back for the penalty. Ford is going to have a crack at goal.
56'Priestland takes the three points but Leicester might not mind that. Had Bath got good service at the scrum they would have fancied taking at least five.
56'8-24 Penalty goal - Rhys Priestland , Bath Rugby
55'Huge scrum for Leicester, five metres out from their own line and the first one goes to ground. Bath eventually get the penalty, as Cole is accused of bringing the set piece down.
54'Charteris is the latest player to require treatment as Pearce and TMO Graham Hughes check to see if Banahan grounded the ball. He did not.
54'Bath continue to knock on the door but Banahan is held as he tries to power over from a yard.
54'Substitute on - Jack Walker , Bath Rugby
54'Player substituted - Tom Dunn , Bath Rugby
54'Substitute on - Nick Auterac , Bath Rugby
54'Player substituted - Beno Obano , Bath Rugby
53'Bath seal the attacking lineout and set the drive. The visitors put everyone into the maul as Banahan gets involved.
51'Bath steal another lineout as Harry Thacker misses with his first throw.
51'Player substituted - Tom Youngs , Leicester Tigers
51'Substitute on - Harry Thacker , Leicester Tigers
51'Player substituted - Logovi'i Mulipola , Leicester Tigers
51'Substitute on - Dan Cole , Leicester Tigers
50'Palma-Newport is not able to continue, and Anthony Perenise, who returned to Bath over the summer, is on.
50'A stoppage in play as Kane Palma-Newport receives treatment following another collapsed scrum.

Leicester are preparing to bring on Dan Cole.
50'Player substituted - Kane Palma-Newport , Bath Rugby
50'Substitute on - Anthony Perenise , Bath Rugby
49'Groans from the crowd and referee Pearce agrees that that was "nowhere near straight".
48'Moments later, Tigers give away a penalty and Priestland drills Bath back into their opponents' 22.
48'Matt Garvey steals a lineout for Bath. That's the third throw Leicester have lost so far.
47'Faletau fields a kick through from Ford, and the Lion is on the receiving end of a strong tackle from Malouf who knocks the No. 8 off his feet and drives him backwards.
46'Bath face a defensive lineout but Barrow is penalised as the ball is thrown in by Dunn.
44'Leciester win the penalty at scrum time and Ford relieves the pressure with a boot downfield.
42'Bath secure the lineout but Banahan knocks on in midfield. Scrum to Leicester.
41'Nick Malouf penalised for a late tackle and Priestland boots Bath back into the Tigers 22.
41'Ford gets the second half underway. Bath are 40 minutes away from their first win at Welford Road for 14 years.
41'8-21 End of first half
40'A sloppy pass from Ben Youngs brings an end to the half, and what do you make of that? Leicester looked to be punishing Bath for their ill discipline, but almost out of nothing they got themselves back in the game, three tries in eight minutes later they are firmly in control.
40'Dunn loses the ball and Toomua can get the Tigers moving forward.
40'8-21 Start of second half
39'Clark makes another half break as Bath look to make their way into the Leicester 22.
37'
37'8-21 Conversion - Rhys Priestland , Bath Rugby
35'TRY! Genge and Dom Barrow take Leicester into the Bath 22 but just as the Tigers begin to threaten the line, Semesa Rokoduguni makes the interception and sprints almost the length of the field to score the visitors' third try.
35'8-19 Try - Semesa Rokoduguni , Bath Rugby
34'A stray pass from Tom Youngs gives Bath the ball back amid groans at Welford Road.

As the ball is kicked upfield, Elliott Stooke gives away a penalty for a high tackle on Veainu.
33'
32'8-14 Conversion - Rhys Priestland , Bath Rugby
32'8-12 Try - Max Clark , Bath Rugby
31'TRY! Bath are five metres out and going through the phases. Eventually Cook digs in to take the ball off the forwards and he spins a pass to Clark who dives over for his second of the game.
30'Bath have an attacking lineout which Charteris takes.
29'Leicester make a mess of a lineout inside the Bath half, but they have managed to smuggle the ball back.
28'8-7 Conversion - Rhys Priestland , Bath Rugby
27'TRY! Out of nothing Priestland sets Banahan free down the left wing and he shows his gas to run 50 metres before passing inside for Clark to score.
27'8-5 Try - Max Clark , Bath Rugby
24'TRY! Tuilagi is back! Ford dances into traffic, and after good work from May, Ben Youngs and Veainu, Brendon O'Connor releases Tuilagi on the left wing and he canters in to score.
24'8-0 Try - Manu Tuilagi , Leicester Tigers
22'Bath are enjoying another spell of possession but they are stuck on halfway, and Charteris knocks on to give Leicester a scrum just inside the Bath half.
21'
21'Ford has his first points since his return to the Tigers.
21'3-0 Penalty goal - George Ford , Leicester Tigers
19'Penalty to Leicester as Bath are pinged at scrum time. Ford decides to go for the posts this time.
18'Leicester are camped on the Bath line but as the ball is given to the backs, Ford finds Tuilagi who tries an offload that finds Banahan. The Bath wing knocks on, but there was a three on two there for Tigers.
17'Luke Charteris penalised for offside and suddenly a quick tap from Ben Youngs finds May on the left wing. Tigers are knocking on the door.
16'Lineout won and drive set, but Bath do well to disrupt the ball and Ben Youngs has to scamper to keep possession.
16'After some consultation, Ford boots the ball to the corner.
15'Anthony Watson takes a Ben Youngs box kick in the face of a good chase and tackle from May. Watson retains possession, but Leicester's defence is good and they win the penalty.
14'An excellent kick from Chris Cook means Leicester have a defensive lineout in their own 22 but they secure the ball well, and Bath concede a third penalty of the match.
12'Some excellent footwork and offload from Max Clark gets Bath into Leicester's half but there's a knock on and ellis Genge can counter.

Boot is eventually put to ball, and as Banahan kicks back upfield he slices it out on the full.
9'Bath penalised at the lineout and Ford can kick Leicester deep into opposition territory.
8'Bath move the ball through the hands with pace but Francois Louw cannot keep control of Faletau's pass on the left wing.
6'
6'Matt Banahan burst through the middle but Tuilagi is there to make the tackle, but knocks on in the process.
4'Now it's the hosts' turn to attack through Telusa Veainu down the left wing.

As the ball is spread right George finds Toomua on a good line and he breaks through the Bath defence but his pass goes awry.
3'The first scrum of the match is untidy as Ben Youngs delays putting the ball in and Bath shove early. We'll have a reset.
2'It comes to nothing as hooker Tom Dunn knocks on. Scrum, Leicester.
1'An early charge for Taulupe Faletau, who makes yards into the Leicester half. Jonathan Joseph takes the ball on and Bath are putting pressure on the Tigers 22.
1'Luke Pearce blows his whistle and Rhys Priestland gets us underway.
1'The players are out on the pitch and we're ready for kick off, 125 years after Welford Road first hosted a match of rugby union.
1'Bath have included three British & Irish Lions in their starting line-up but they will have their work cut out trying to stop a Leicester team featuring Ford, Tuilagi, Toomua and Jonny May to name just four.
1'We've had some fantastic rugby already this weekend. There were 32 tries in the Premiership on Saturday alone. No pressure guys...
1'
1'
1'Hello and welcome to live coverage of Bath's trip to Welford Road as Leicester Tigers host the final game of Aviva Premiership's opening weekend.

George Ford starts at 10 for Leicester against his former club, with ex-Tigers fly-half Freddie Burns on the bench for Bath. Manu Tuilagi also starts for the hosts alongside Matt Toomua. It should be a cracker.
1'0-0 Start of first half