In the disappointment of defeat, Geordan Murphy says he still saw positives in the Leicester Tigers ranks at Bath on Sunday.

Tigers scored first in the Gallagher Premiership Round 11 fixture, with Jonny may grabbing his eighth try of the season in just the second minute of the game, but Bath then dominated territory and possession on the way to a 23-16 victory.

“I’m frustrated with the result,” said Tigers head coach Murphy. “We started really well but then we turned over ball from the kick-off after our try and we ended up having to defend or the rest of the first half. They came at us and we didn’t have many chances to win the ball back at that point.

“There were some positive moments in defence, we worked really hard for each other, put bodies on the line, made some great tackles, but a couple of things did not go our way and you find yourself down and it’s difficult to claw your way back into a game from there.

“At half-time we were still in it, but we probably forced it a bit in their half of the field. There were a couple of turnovers there and we tried to force it a bit too early.”

Tigers remain four points off the top four in the league table, though sit in ninth place at the midway point.

“The league is so competitive, the top two are a bit clear but everybody else is in a dogfight,” added Murphy. “With the right result today, we could have gone fourth or fifth and a point put us in ninth, it is really competitive in that middle part of the table.

“We need to keep scrapping, getting points wherever we can and fight for it. The team that can stick a couple of results together will be well up there.”

Tigers are back in action in Round 12 with a home game against Gloucester Rugby this Saturday. Klick-off at Welford Road is at 3.00pm and tickets are available now.