Bright, ingenuity from Adam Thompstone who thumps a kick downfield off balance that his Tigers team-mates chase hard, but George Ford is calm enough to shrug off the chasers and drill into touch.

Bath turnover as Leicester threaten in the 22.

No-one has grabbed this game by the scruff of the neck yet.

Leicester really trying to swarm the breakdown with their ball-hungry back row.

Trade of kicks gives Bath a line-out and they move it back into open field to launch another attack.

Favourable angle even in the difficult conditions for Tommy Bell, and he snaps one through the sticks to get Leicester on the board.

Scrum has to be reset, and on the second attempt Henry Thomas of Bath is pinged by JP Doyle.

First scrum penalty of the game and Tommy Bell is going for the posts.

Wet and windy. Francois Louw, already sporting a bandaged head, drops a ball and gives Leicester feed on the edge of the Bath 22.

Image source, Getty Images

Bath are making incisions into the Leicester line here, Matt Banahan popping up on both sides of the field to scythe through.

Leicester sort out George Ford with a big hit from captain Ed Slater, and win the penalty for holding on too long.

Bath get a penalty and we get our first mini-scuffle. 

JP Doyle has it in hand though. George Ford pumps one into the stands.

Leicester marched back downfield.

Tigers centre Matt Smith pokes a smart kick in to turn Bath round and put them back in their own 22.

Leicester are hitting the breakdown hard early on. Some big boys in that pack.

Both teams trying to move the ball wide, Telusa Veainu needed a strong cover tackle to stop him from racing away down Bath's left side.

Bath had put a decent move on midfield but couldn't quite execute.

Open start. Fierce defence from the Tigers.

Image source, Rex Features

Mathew Tait's intervention comes at a cost. He's off and George Catchpole is on already. The England international is limping away from the action.

Cutting break from Kyle Eastmond gets Bath through the Leicester cover with a glorious sidestep.

Tries to link with Semesa Rokoduguni but Mathew Tait covers well and the attack is snuffed out.

There are the early danger signs.

JP Doyle puts whistle to lips and we are off thanks to George Ford's kick down field.

Ben Youngs sends one into touch with his first kick.

Polite applause greets Bath as they head out of the tunnel.

Now we get Deep Purple's 'Smoke on the Water' ready for Mathew Tait to lead out the Tigers.

Bigger roar. Big atmosphere. Biggest game in store!

Welford Road looking smart, the new stand dwarfs the field.

Teams coming out of the dressing rooms, pacing through the tight corridors in the bowels of the stand.

Two teams who have threats everywhere. It's mouthwatering.

With Sam Burgess now back with the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the Australian National Rugby League (registration permitting), Bath turned to Scotland international David Denton to bolster their back-row stocks.

Former Edinburgh man Denton is a classic modern back-rower, away from the usual set-piece and breakdown responsibilities, he's also adept at ball-carrying, has smart hands and naturally loves a tackle.

Scotland head coach Vern Cotter has kept the 25-year-old part of the set-up, and he was in the side that lost dramatically to Australia in the 2015 World Cup quarter-finals.

He's yet to make his Bath bow, but is on the bench today.

Image source, Rex Features

There are a couple of players celebrating milestone appearances, including Matt Garvey and Ed Slater on opposite sides.

Another - built like a tank but with a V12 engine under the bonnet - in former England outside back Matt Banahan has been a useful weapon for Bath since his arrival at the Rec in 2006.

The 28-year-old will chalk up his 200th appearance in the blue, black and white this afternoon as part of a dynamic centre partnership with Kyle Eastmond.

Congrats to the Jerseyman, who on his day is near unplayable.