Bath dented Leinster's European hopes after defeating the Irish side 19-16 in a dogged game at the Rec this afternoon.

It was a strong defensive effort from both teams with only two tries being scored, and it came down to a George Ford penalty with three minutes to go to secure the win for Bath.

Johnny Sexton got Leinster's first points after 10 minutes with a penalty, before Ford replied with a penalty and a drop goal to put Bath in the lead after 20 minutes.

Bath thought they had scored off Matt Banahan's break but Stuart Hooper was deemed to have knocked on over the line.

Ford and Sexton traded a penalty each after half time, before Sexton levelled the scores after 56 minutes with a penalty.

Bath finally got the first try of the afternoon on the hour mark after the English pack put Leinster in trouble, and the referee awarded a penalty try after the scrum was hauled down illegally.

Substitute Josh van der Flier found a gap and bulldozed over to grab a try back for Leinster with 10 minutes to go, with Sexton nailing the conversion to bring the scores level.

Sexton had the chance to put Leinster in front but his penalty fell just short, before Ford showed the Irishman how it was done with the match-winning penalty.

Leinster are now bottom of Pool 5 in what is their worst start to a European Campaign since 2006.