By Glen Leat
October 5 2002

With just two minutes remaining Bath were 22 - 6 down to Leicester but ended up losing by just two points and thus gaining a vital bonus point at Welford Road. Two late tries by Maggs and Tindall were both converted by Barkley and Bath very nearly snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

This is without doubt the worst start to a season Leicester have made in years and it is very frustrating that Bath could not take advantage of this lull in form to grab a rare away victory. Leicester were very poor in the first half, squandering chance after chance in their bid to cross the Bath line and it was only a very late try by Martin Corry which ensured the East Midlanders did not go in for their half time cup of tea without troubling the scoreboard operator.

Deano must have read the riot act during the break because within a couple of minutes Tim Stimpson scored a penalty to take the lead and then Dorian West and Neil Back did what they do best and "Up the Jumpered" the ball over the line for two quick tries. At 22 - 6 up the Leicester crowd found their voice and started cheering their team but, as if from nowhere, the Bath players suddenly starting stringing their play together to see firstly Kevin Maggs and then Mike Tindall score tries to make this one of the most exciting finishes to a Bath -v- Leicester game in years. Oh if only there had been another five minutes of play then Bath would probably have snatched a most improbable victory - ahhh!

Whether it was pre-match psychology by the coaches or just quick healing players we will never know, but it was a surprise for many fans as the players both sides said would not make the game trotted out on to the field at 3 o'clock. Bath fans were overjoyed to see the Cattmeister playing again and were buoyed up by his presence at fly-half. Unfortunately for Catt he could not guide Bath to the victory they needed and ended up in the Sin Bin in the second half to continue Bath's poor disciplinary record this season.

Tigers skipper Martin Johnson told his Planet Rugby website before the game that the English champions would bounce back from the shock of losing to 14-man Bristol but judging by the first half performance and the Bath come-back, Leicester's bounce clearly has a slow puncture.

Let's look at the result of your prediction for this game:

Question: Will Bath beat Leicester? Yes 42% No 50% Draw 3% Don't Know 6%

Let's have a look at the latest league table.

So what did you think of the Bath players in this game? Vote by clicking on to here

Scores Leicester Tigers Try 40+2 Mins Corry Pen 42 Mins (Stimpson) Try 60 Mins West Conv 60 Mins (Stimpson) Try 65 Mins Back Conv 65 Mins (Stimpson) Bath Pen 5 Mins (Barkley) Pen 23 Mins (Barkley) Try 78 Mins Maggs Conv 78 Mins (Barkley) Try 81 Mins Tindall Conv 81 Mins (Barkley)

Bath:

15. Olly Barkley 14. Simon Danielli 13. Mike Tindall 12. Kevin Maggs 11. Tom Voyce 10. Mike Catt 9. Gareth Cooper 1. David Barnes 2. Jonathan Humphreys
3. Alessio Galasso 4. Andy Beattie 5. Danny Grewcock 6. Gavin Thomas 7. Dan Lyle 8. Nathan Thomas