The first pool game in the EDF Energy Cup can go a long way towards determining a club's attitude to the competition. Win, and you believe there can be extended mileage; lose and the mind turns instantly towards the more serious tournaments, the Guinness Premiership and the Heineken Cup, but that does not mean there is no value to the Anglo-Welsh cup.

In the second half of last season, Leicester could hardly scrape together an away win for love nor money; they ended with six in all competitions, as against ten defeats, yet their victory on Saturday brought them their third win on the road a month into the season.

The likes of Dan Hemingway, who has been on loan to Nottingham, or Seb Pearson, the Canada Under-20 flanker, can take pride in such an achievement on their first senior appearance. Equally Bath will be satisfied with the exciting displays of Josh Ovens and Scott Hobson, and the introduction of Shontayne Hape, the former Bradford Bulls centre.

Derrick Hougaard, who also made his debut, did not get his career in the Midlands off to the best of starts with a missed tackle and a missed touch but he did kick 14 of Leicester's points while Robbie Kydd was missing four attempts from six.

That haul included a trademark dropped goal late in the game that forced Bath to seek a try that they seldom looked like finding. Bath's two tries came from Andrew Higgins, who benefited from Michael Stephenson's break past Hougaard and then from a horrid mis-hit clearance by Sam Vesty. Ben Youngs darted through a lineout stolen on Bath's throw by Leicester for their try as they took leadership of pool B.

Scorers: Bath: Tries: Higgins 2 (5min, 33). Conversion: Kydd. Penalty goal: Kydd (53). Leicester: Try: B Youngs (18). Conversion: Hougaard. Penalty goals: Hougaard 3 (8, 16, 61). Dropped goal: Hougaard (70).

Scoring sequence (Bath first): 7-0, 7-3, 7-6, 7-13, 12-13 (half-time), 15-13, 15-16, 15-19.

Bath: R Kydd; M Stephenson, S Hape, T Cheeseman (rep: R Crane, 74), A Higgins; E Fuimaono-Sapolu, S Bemand (rep: M Baxter, 72); D Flatman (rep: N Catt, 67), R Hawkins (rep: P Dixon, 67), P Ion (rep: A Jarvis, 41), J Harrison (rep: S Hooper, 27), S Hobson (rep: A Griffiths, 72), J Ovens, J Scaysbrook, E Jackson.

Leicester: S Vesty; T Varndell, A Erinle (rep: M Smith, 58-64), T Youngs, A Tuilagi (rep: Smith, 64); D Hougaard, B Youngs; B Stankovich (rep: S Bonorino, 62), M Davies (rep: G Chuter, 39-41, 55), D Cole, S Raven (rep: J Goldspink, 72), B Kay, D Hemingway, S Pearson (rep: M Wentzel, 48), B Deacon (rep: Wentzel, 30-32).

Referee: D Richards (England). Attendance: 10,600.