In the past couple of seasons the EDF Energy Cup has provided Bath with an opportunity to experiment with their line-up and rest those players who have played nearly every game to date. However, this concept was clearly obviously lost on Justin Harrison who started his sixth consecutive match. Harrison apart, the Bath team picked by Steve Meehan exhibited a mixture of youth and experience. Shontayne Hape made his long-awaited debut in the BBW and youngsters such as Ed Jackson, Josh Ovens and Scott Hobson also made their first starts.

Leicester brought a side to Bath which included England winger Tom Varndell, Springbok Derick Houggard and Samoan Alesana Tuilagi.  They too embraced the squad rotation system concept now synonymous with the EDF Cup and included some academy players.

The wind and rain blowing from the East to West stand made Bath's now infamous expansive game awkward. They attempted to largely keep ball in hand whilst the Tigers favoured the kicking option with Vesty and Houggard on numerous occasions choosing this option rather than spreading it to their dangerous wingers.

The early exchanges between the sides resulted in equal pressure on both 22's. In the 5^th minute of the game came the early break-through from Bath. Michael Stephenson, who had a superb game, handed off an opposition player before popping the ball to Andy Higgins who managed to cut inside and dart underneath the posts. The conversion was successful by Robbie Kydd.

This lead was soon chipped away by the boot of Houggard. Bath were penalised for holding on in the 6^th minute and Houggard kicked the resulting penalty. Bath were almost immediately presented with the opportunity to increase their lead to seven points, minutes later, but Kydd's penalty missed the uprights. However, in the 13^th minute it looked like Bath might have added to their lead. A slick move incorporating new boy Hape led to Cheeseman nearly crossing the Tigers line, only to be pulled back for crossing. The clearance kick by Youngs led to a Tigers penalty, which Houggard duly kicked.

In the 17^th minute of the first half, Leicester took the lead for the first time in the match. A line out deep into Bath territory led to Ben Youngs picking a gap in the Bath defence and sprinting underneath the posts. Houggard converted the try to give the Tigers a 13-7 lead at this stage. Bath returned the pressure back onto the Tigers and had better decisions been made on the Tigers line, Bath could (and probably should) have scored a try in the 20^th minute. Poised on the brink of conceding a try, the Tigers somehow managed to turnover the ball and form a counter attack which was well defused by Michael Stephenson.

The 23^rd minute of the match presented Houggard with another opportunity to extend the Tigers lead. With the crowd becoming increasingly frustrated by Houggard's slightly relaxed attitude to a kicker's allotted time, he missed his first kick of the day. In the 27^th minute, Justin Harrison was forced to leave the field with a ‘stinger' injury which led to Hooper coming on as his replacement. This substitution clearly had one eye on the Toulouse match next weekend, and whilst Harrison has been outstanding this season, Hooper was a very worthy replacement. A break by the Tigers lock a few moments later was defused by Kydd which prevented a definite try.

The next few minutes were Bath's. Despite further pressure on the Tigers line in the 33^rd minute, this opportunity did not quite present the try that the Rec faithful wished for. However, Andy Higgins soon provided an answer to Bath's frustration with a good finish in the corner after Bath had spread the ball wide. This try was greeted with much delight by the newly formed Andy Higgins Fan Club in Block J of the Helphire Stand. These proved to be the last points of an encouraging first half. Bath had much more impetus to play rugby in the difficult conditions and looked more likely to add to the score in the second-half despite being behind. The mixture of youth and experience had performed well and new boy Hape had looked dangerous when he had his hands on the ball.

However, as the conditions got worse, Bath lost their way. The number of times Bath were turned-over increased and they found it harder to retain possession when in an attacking position. This led to further dominance from the boot of Houggard. The second-half started with Aaron Jarvis replacing Paulica Ion in the front row for Bath. Josh Ovens, who performed well in his first start at blind-side, made an early break for Bath but it failed to materialise into a try-scoring opportunity. I have to add at this stage, that my notes concerning the events of the second-half were absolutely drenched from the rain so the details may become vaguer.

In the 47^th minute of the game, Cheeseman chased Houggard after a pass from Ben Youngs went straight over the Springbok's head. The resultant kick from Houggard went out on the full in accordance with the new ELVs. Excellent hands from Bath led to a penalty in front of the posts for Kydd to capitalise on and he duly added the points to leave Bath leading 15-13 at this stage. These proved to be Bath's last points of the game. Bath were penalised in the 60^th minute for not rolling away, and Houggard added the 3 points to put the Tigers back in front.

Poor kicking from Kydd prevented Bath from adding any more points in the last twenty minutes of the game. Bath had an opportunity three minutes after the Houggard penalty to re-take the lead, but unfortunately were unable to capitalise on the situation. Dixon and Nathan Catt took the field in the 67^th minute to re-invigorate the front-row. David Flatman, captain of Bath on the day, had a good game. He showed all the instincts of a Bath player in the Meehan era, frequently attempting to off-load in contact and always looking for an opportunity to keep the ball progressing along the line.

Houggard added a drop-goal in the 70^th minute to make, what proved to be, the final score 19-15 to Leicester. Adrian Griffiths made his first competitive first-team start in the 71^st minute replacing debutant Scott Hobson. In the 73^rd minute Bath were presented with another opportunity to cancel out the Tigers lead with a penalty just outside the Tigers 22. Kydd however missed this kick cutting the ball to the left of the post. Crane and Baxter replaced Bemand and Cheeseman respectively for the last ten minutes. These minutes were littered with errors by both teams as the pace and urgency went out of the game. Fatigue had clearly set in for both sides.

On reflection after the final whistle, despite the frustration of losing to the Tigers, there are definite positives to be taken from this performance. Michael Stephenson was outstanding on his return to the Bath side. He was lively throughout and his defensive work was committed and effective in the prevention of Tuilagi and Varndell.

Eli also provided an alternative option to Butch at fly-half. He posed a threat to the Tigers defence and the amount of attention he received clearly illustrated they had ear-marked him pre-match as a danger. Josh Ovens also shone. He was constantly looking for the ball and made strides into the Tigers defence. His performance must have pleased the Bath coaching staff and has confirmed his credentials as another option for Bath at blind-side.

In regards to Leicester, it is likely that Houggard will take the plaudits for kicking the majority of their points. Ben Youngs, however, was exceptional at scrum-half. He posed a constant threat to Bath and capped his performance with a try. It is highly doubtful that when the two sides meet in three weeks that they'll have the same starting line-ups. Bath will want to reverse the score and retain their position at the top of the league. Those players who made their first-starts of the season will be frustrated at losing the game, but can definitely be encouraged by their performance.

Next weekend sees Bath face French side Toulouse. To all Bath fans making the trip across the channel... Allez Allez Allez.

Bath Team:  Kydd, Stephenson, Hape, Cheeseman (Crane 74), Higgins; Fuimaono-Sapolu, Bemand (Baxter 72); Flatman (capt, Catt 70), Hawkins (Dixon 70), Ion (Jarvis h-t), Harrison (Hooper 27), Hobson (Griffiths 68),  J.Ovens, Scaysbrook, Jackson.

Bath Tries: Higgins 2. Con: Kydd. Pen: Kydd 1.

Leicester Tries: B. Youngs. Con. Houggard. Pen: Houggard 3. DG: Houggard.