Pepper strikes to give Leicester some problems to digest

Michael Cheika was given a reminder of the size of the task ahead as his Leicester side paid a heavy price for their mistakes on his first home match in charge.

- Gerard Meagher

No error was more costly than that of Ollie HassellCollins, who dropped the ball over the tryline, on an afternoon when Bath displayed admirable grit for a first win on Tigers turf in four years.

There was plenty of spirit and endeavour from Leicester, a strong set piece and a welcome first appearance of the year for Anthony Watson. They were combative in the first half, buoyed by their last-gasp win against Exeter last time out but the skill level and execution were lacking as the same problems they had last season resurfaced. Bath, for whom Ollie Lawrence was outstanding, had that extra bit of polish and it ultimately told.

It says a lot that one of the biggest cheers of the day came when a squirrel invaded the pitch and it will concern the Leicester hierarchy just how many empty seats were on show. The nearby King Power Stadium was hosting the Women's Super League match between Leicester and Arsenal. Premiership officials consider women's football as one of the closest competitors when it comes to attracting eyeballs and on this evidence the Tigers have some work to do to win them back.

"There were back-to-back errors which really hurt us," Cheika said.