This is Bath -- Bath Rugby head coach Mike Ford says his side still have much to improve upon despite recording a 27-20 win over Aviva Premiership champions Leicester Tigers at The Rec yesterday. The two sides served up an epic contest that was fitting of its billing as the 100th anniversary celebration of the first meeting between these great rivals. Tries from Jonathan Joseph and Matt Banahan helped Bath into a 21-3 lead at the break, although their advantage was in no small part down to the sin-binnings of Tigers duo Logovi'i Mulipola and Tom Youngs. It was one-way traffic in Leicester's favour once the visitors were back up to their full complement after the break but tries from Steve Mafi, Ed Slater and Verenki Goneva were not enough to complete a famous comeback as Bath fly-half George Ford booted 17 points against his former club to seal the win. Having seen his side hold firm to beat the Premiership's benchmark side, head coach Ford was encouraged that Bath can still get even better. "We're very happy about the win and the result, and very happy with the scoreline at half-time," said Ford, who added that the day's proceedings were not just about the performance of his son – Bath fly-half George. "To beat any Leicester side – the champions of England with nine grand finals on the run – you never knock that in the face. "So we're very pleased with the result but having said that, the performance could be a lot better – even in the first half. "We sat there at half-time and were wondering how many opportunities we'd missed in their half to actually put more pressure on them. "In the second half, it was credit to Leicester. They squeezed us, put pressure on us and slowed the game down to their pace. We made one or two errors and they got back into the game. We were pleased to come home in the last ten minutes. "I'm pleased for George because there was a lot of pressure on him. I'm pleased that he has come through it and we've got the win but it's not just about George, it's the team. "We are a young team and we made one or two errors which we will learn from. "As a coach, if you've got plenty of things to work on and yet still have won against Leicester then there are obviously quite a few positives there. "We are going to get better, without question. We have got loads more inside of us." The turning point of the game came eight minutes from time when Bath hooker Ross Batty was knocked cold while attempting a tackle. Play was stopped while the player received lengthy treatment before he was eventually stretchered from the pitch. Batty later revealed on Twitter that he was OK. The break stopped Leicester's revival in its tracks and Ford admitted it had tipped the balance back in Bath's favour. "It killed the momentum for them. We had plenty of time for our leaders to talk to the players," said Ford. "We came up with a good touch-finder, won that lineout and got a penalty from that. We missed the kick but then from the 22 we got another penalty which put us seven points in front. "It was awful for Ross but it suited us that the momentum stopped for them."
Reported by This is 4 days ago.
This is Bath -- Bath Rugby head coach Mike Ford says his side still have much to improve upon despite recording a 27-20 win over Aviva Premiership champions Leicester Tigers at The Rec yesterday. The two sides served up an epic contest that was fitting of its billing as the 100th anniversary celebration of the first meeting between these great rivals. Tries from Jonathan Joseph and Matt Banahan helped Bath into a 21-3 lead at the break, although their advantage was in no small part down to the sin-binnings of Tigers duo Logovi'i Mulipola and Tom Youngs. It was one-way traffic in Leicester's favour once the visitors were back up to their full complement after the break but tries from Steve Mafi, Ed Slater and Verenki Goneva were not enough to complete a famous comeback as Bath fly-half George Ford booted 17 points against his former club to seal the win. Having seen his side hold firm to beat the Premiership's benchmark side, head coach Ford was encouraged that Bath can still get even better. "We're very happy about the win and the result, and very happy with the scoreline at half-time," said Ford, who added that the day's proceedings were not just about the performance of his son – Bath fly-half George. "To beat any Leicester side – the champions of England with nine grand finals on the run – you never knock that in the face. "So we're very pleased with the result but having said that, the performance could be a lot better – even in the first half. "We sat there at half-time and were wondering how many opportunities we'd missed in their half to actually put more pressure on them. "In the second half, it was credit to Leicester. They squeezed us, put pressure on us and slowed the game down to their pace. We made one or two errors and they got back into the game. We were pleased to come home in the last ten minutes. "I'm pleased for George because there was a lot of pressure on him. I'm pleased that he has come through it and we've got the win but it's not just about George, it's the team. "We are a young team and we made one or two errors which we will learn from. "As a coach, if you've got plenty of things to work on and yet still have won against Leicester then there are obviously quite a few positives there. "We are going to get better, without question. We have got loads more inside of us." The turning point of the game came eight minutes from time when Bath hooker Ross Batty was knocked cold while attempting a tackle. Play was stopped while the player received lengthy treatment before he was eventually stretchered from the pitch. Batty later revealed on Twitter that he was OK. The break stopped Leicester's revival in its tracks and Ford admitted it had tipped the balance back in Bath's favour. "It killed the momentum for them. We had plenty of time for our leaders to talk to the players," said Ford. "We came up with a good touch-finder, won that lineout and got a penalty from that. We missed the kick but then from the 22 we got another penalty which put us seven points in front. "It was awful for Ross but it suited us that the momentum stopped for them."
Reported by This is 4 days ago.