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George Ford shines as Leicester battle back to beat Bath in thriller

By PA
Beno Obano scores off a malfunctioning Tigers lineout /PA

England star George Ford kicked 21 points against his former club as Leicester overturned a 14-point deficit to beat Bath 36-31 in a thrilling encounter at Welford Road. Bath led 14-0 with two converted tries in the opening 15 minutes but the home pack gradually became the dominant force to earn a deserved victory for the Tigers over their long-standing rivals.

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Ford kicked five penalties and converted all three tries scored by Freddie Steward, Harry Wells and Cameron Henderson.

Bath’s tries came from Beno Obano, Ben Spencer and Cameron Redpath, with Rhys Priestland converting two and adding four penalties.

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Bath took a third-minute lead when Tigers lost possession at a line-out close to their try-line. From the resulting maul, Josh McNally burst away and when he was hauled down, Obano was on hand to pick up and force his way over.

Priestland converted before his side received an injury blow when Taulupe Faletau was withdrawn for a head injury assessment.

Leicester Tigers v Bath Rugby - Gallagher Premiership - Welford Road

Bath should have suffered another setback but Ford was unable to put the home side on the scoreboard by missing with a straightforward penalty attempt.

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Leicester number eight Jasper Wiese was sin-binned for a head-high tackle on Anthony Watson and almost immediately the visitors capitalised by scoring a second try.

A powerful burst from Zach Mercer put the defence on the back foot before Spencer raced away from inside his own half to chip over a defender and then win the race to touchdown for a superb individual score.

Leicester Tigers v Bath Rugby - Gallagher Premiership - Welford Road

Faletau returned in time to see his side concede a number of penalties in quick succession for Ford to succeed with two to bring Leicester back into contention.

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Bath continued to struggle with the power of international props Dan Cole and Ellis Genge in the scrum and it was Genge who set up Tigers’ first try with a strong run. He scattered a number of defenders and when the ball was recycled, a well-timed pass from Ford sent Steward over.

Former Bath fly-half Ford converted before he and Priestland exchanged penalties to give the away side a 17-16 interval lead.

Leicester Tigers v Bath Rugby - Gallagher Premiership - Welford Road

Within two minutes of the restart, Tigers took the lead for the first time. Ford hoisted a bomb for Steward to jump above Watson and secure possession before clever play from Nemani Nadolo gave Wells the opportunity to force his way over.

Ford converted from the touchline before he kicked a penalty to increase Leicester’s advantage, but Priestland landed three penalties to level the scores at 26-26 with 17 minutes remaining.

However, Leicester’s pack were in the ascendancy and replacement Henderson forced his way over from close range for the decisive score.

Ford’s conversion and his fifth penalty secured the spoils but a late try from Redpath earned Bath a merited bonus point.

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Bull Shark 3 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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