Five of their World Cup squad will be missing from the final League match against Bristol, where defeat could deny them the title. Yet Leicester's greatest strength can also, on occasions, be their most serious weakness in that so much of their game has been constructed around set-piece, rucks and, more especially, mauls so their growth behind the scrum has tended to be stunted.If Leicester are to reach the level of consistency achieved by Bath and compete successfully in Europe, where the club game is heading, they need to strengthen their squad. Against Bath, Graham Rowntree, his stamping indiscretion apart, gave a virtuoso display as a modern prop-forward and Matt Poole, possessing the physique of a forward but the mentality of a back, has surely never combined the two to better effect. Their second-half response to Leicester's onslaught was noble and stirring, and bodes well for the future. "Like all good sides," Tony Russ, Leicester's director of rugby, said, "it has been Bath's ability to achieve consistency, not so much in form but in results."Indeed, without that quality Bath would now be languishing in mid-table. But it is this consistency which Leicester have yet to match. They have taken seven points out of eight this season from Bath and Wasps yet have fallen against lesser sides such as Gloucester.They have a tight five of formidable power and energy.

We have seen enough in other sports to recognise the correlation between insolence and intimidation on the field and violence off it.Bath are much too good a club to be tainted by such tomfoolery and indiscipline. Having for so long basked in the adoration of their passionately committed support and having enjoyed the admiration and respect of the rugby public, they should now find it in their hearts to be generous in defeat. Victor Ubogu's foolish posturing in front of the referee, a packed house and the TV cameras, and his sharp exit afterwards, to say nothing of his profligacy in conceding so many penalties, merit some form of internal discipline. That he and a number of others escaped more severe censure on the day was the one blight on a memorable afternoon. It is to be hoped that their considered reaction is more gracious than their reflex response last Saturday.

It will be intriguing to see how Bath cope with this sudden reversal of fortune. Equally important has been the psychological effect of the result on the reigning champions, coming so soon after their defeat by Wasps. The myth of impenetrability surrounding Bath has been exploded. LEICESTER'S victory at Welford Road last week meant that they are unbeaten in all their matches at every level against Bath this season: a remarkable achievement against a club where the bright green shoots are to be found in greater profusion than anywhere else. All that mattered now was the news from the Stoop.Sale: R Liley; J Mallinder (capt), J Baxendell, G Stocks, C Yates; P Turner, C Saverimutto; P Smith, S Diamond, A Smith, J Fowler, D Baldwin, D Irskine, N Ashurst, C Vyvyan.Leicester: J Liley; S Hackney, R Robinson, S Potter, R Underwood; J Harris, A Kardooni; G Rowntree, R Cockerill, D Garforth, M Johnson, M Poole, J Wells (capt), C Tarbuck, B Drake-Lee (P Grant, 44 min).Referee: A Spreadbury (Somerset).. Rob Liley converted to make it 10-14 with seven minutes to go.But it was Leicester who managed to squeeze two scores into this short spell - big brother John Liley kicking his third penalty, from just inside Sale's half, and Harris ending as he had begun with an even better dropped goal. But in the last 10 minutes, Sale fanned out twice to take Saverimutto's pass from a tapped penalty on the Leicester line, and the second time managed to get their centre, Gareth Stocks, over for a try.