Injury-free Ford heaps more pain on Bath

By ROB WILDMAN

Leicester ……….40pts

Tries: Dolly 10, Scott 27, Ford 57, Cowan-Dickie 80

Conversions: Ford 10, 27, 57, 80

Penalties: Ford 4, 25, 42, 75

Bath ………………..23pts

Tries: Clark 7, McNally 52

Conversions: Cipriani 7, 52

Penalties: Cipriani 22, 30, 63

Try time: Matt Scott beats the challenge of Max Clark to score Leicester's second try

PICTURES: Getty Images

Just reward: Josh McNally scores for Bath

GEORGE Ford produced another masterly display for Leicester and then revealed that overcoming a longstanding injury had been his big goal this autumn.

The deposed England fly-half led the Tigers to an eighth straight win in the Premiership this season by contributing 25 points, including a crucial try in the second half.

His eye for a chance came in the 58th minute when he moved himself out wide to accept substitute Richard Wigglesworth's pass off the back of a Leicester ruck.

The score and his conversion put Leicester ten points clear to leave a young Bath team frustrated at gaining nothing from one of their best performances of a so far disastrous season.

Ford's composed performance followed last Saturday's man-of-thematch display at Northampton where he racked up another 25 points in a 55-26 win.

He even managed a joke at his present England situation following speculation that he might be called up on Friday morning to cover for the Covid-struck Owen Farrell.

“I turned my phone off,” Ford jested before talking about his Achilles problem which has hindered him since last April.

He explained: “The biggest thing for me has been to overcome the niggle I had. That's by far the biggest thing.

“And what I mean by that, is that I have been able to train consistently and have been able to rip and fly into training a lot more.

“Off the back of that I feel in a much better place personally to go on and to play well for Leicester.”

Ford is certainly doing that and his match up against Danny Cipriani was one of the intriguing sub plots on firework night at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.

Cipriani, playing a full 80 minutes, produced his best in the first half, starting by a sweetly-timed pass for Max Clark's try in the third minute.

He also teased Leicester in a series of kicks which exposed Leicester's cover in the absence of Freddie Steward now in the England squad.

Despite Cipriani adding two penalty goals to that early try, Leicester turned round 20-13 ahead thanks to another try from hooker Nic Dolly, who has become ‘king' of the driving mauls in scoring six tries in seven games so far.

Leicester's other try showed their developing play in midfield where Dan Kelly and Matt Scott combined powerfully for the latter to escape his Bath tacklers.

The second half continued in the same ultra-competitive vein. Leicester needed Ford's points to keep ahead of opponents who fought back to within three points at 23-20 through Josh McNally's try in the 52nd minute.

It was certainly just reward for McNally who had unluckily lost out in the first half when referee Matthew Carley did not award a score due to a double movement. It was a close call.

A further penalty from Cipriani closed the deficit again but Leicester finished the night on top.

Their substitutes made a difference in the final ten minutes led by the sharp interventions of Kini Murimurivalu who had replaced the equally effective Nemani Nadolo.

A Ford penalty rewarded one period of Leicester pressure while the final move was another forward ending in a try for substitute hooker Tom Cowan-Dickie.