Leicester into play-off spots after beating Bath

Julian Montoya's brace moved the Leicester captain onto six tries for the season

Leicester moved back to into the play-off places after a home Premiership win over bottom side Bath

Ben Spencer's fine try cut the gap before Hanro Liebenberg replied to ensure a bonus point before half-time.

Josh McNally got a third for Bath, but Montoya removed any doubt with his second try before a Harry Wells score.

Fergus Lee-Warner smashed his way over the Tigers line with four minutes left to earn Bath a try-scoring bonus point, but they remain bottom of the table while Leicester move up to third.

• Premiership table

Bath ended an opening 10 minutes dominated by kick battles with a try as Gallagher snuck in to the left corner after their first real spell of possession in Leicester territory.

But six minutes later Potter got on the end of a long Pollard pass to go over after pressure on the Bath line.

Leicester began to turn the screw and Bath struggled to cope as time and again they gave away penalties on their line - Tom Dunn was sin-binned after 20 minutes and following more pressure Pollard found space to go over.

Josh McNally was also yellow-carded for an infringement in the build-up to Pollard's try and with Bath down to 13 men, Montoya eased over with the visitors unable to cope.

Ben Spencer and Handre Pollard traded penalties before the Bath scrum-half's superb one-handed pick up of a loose ball from a ruck allowed him to race down the left wing for a fine opportunist touchdown with his side back to 15, before Liebenberg forced his way over from close range shortly before the break for the hosts.

Bath started the second half well and McNally went over following a close-range lineout, but any celebrations were short-lived as they had England back-row Sam Underhill helped off with a neck injury and lost fellow forward Alfie Barbeary with what looked like a hamstring problem soon after.

Another Pollard penalty extended the lead as Bath failed to convert a number of good periods of possession.

Bath were made to pay with 16 minutes to go as Mike Brown rolled back the years with a superb break from the half-way line that saw him tackled five metres from the Bath line, but Tigers recycled the ball well and Montoya battered his way over in the left corner.

Potter had a second try disallowed shortly after following a push by Brown on Niall Annett as he chased down Matt Scott's kick, but Wells did score for Tigers soon after - Charlie Atkinson's kick was tipped and Scott caught it in a now onside position and a couple of passes later Wells was in.

Leicester Tigers: Brown; Potter, Scott, Gopperth, Simmons; Pollard, Youngs; West, Montoya (capt), Heyes, Martin, Henderson, Liebenberg, Reffell, Wiese

Replacements: Clare, van Wyk, Hurd, Wells, Cracknell, Whiteley, Atkinson, Porter

Bath: de Glanville; McConnochie, Joseph, Redpath, Gallagher; Bailey, Spencer (capt); Obano, Dunn, Stuart, McNally, van Velze, Lee-Warner, Underhill, Coetzee

Replacements: Annett, Schoeman, Rae, Reid, Barbeary, Schreuder, Ojomoh, Cloete

Referee: Karl Dickson

• Subscribe to the Rugby Union Weekly podcast
• Add rugby union alerts to your BBC Sport app