Leicester Tigers came from behind to beat Bath this afternoon, in an ill-tempered clash which saw three red cards and two yellows.
Stephen Donald scored a try for Bath after 12 minutes, which was the only scoring play of the first half.
Julian Salvi missed a chunk of the opening period for Tigers while receiving stitches for a facial cut, Jordan Crane spending eight minutes on the pitch as a blood substitute.
Leicester looked lively after the break, and were awarded a penalty early in the second half, George Ford kicking the three points.
Bath were reduced to 14 men as Simon Taylor was shown a yellow card for crossing.
Leicester took advantage to force another penalty and take a one-point lead.
However, the lead was short-lived, with Tom Biggs adding Bath's second try of the afternoon two minutes later.
Momentum swung back in Leicester's favour when Francois Louw was red-carded for elbowing an opponent in the face, temporarily leaving Bath with only 13 players on the field.
The home side needed just one minute to get back in the game, as Adam Thompstone scored the Tigers' only try of the match.
Ford missed the conversion that would have given Leicester the lead, but made amends four minutes later with a penalty kick.
A mass brawl shortly after Ford's penalty resulted in two more red cards.
Matthew Banahan was dismissed for a dangerous tackle on Anthony Allen, while Brett Deacon was also sent off, having punched Banahan in retaliation. Allen was stretchered off following the incident.
Bath went down to 12 men for 10 minutes after Donald was shown a yellow for swinging arms.
The win moves Leicester into the playoff places.
Sian Cowper
