Leinster’s European ambitions were all but ended by the banks of the River Avon on this evening, their second Pool 5 defeat in six days condemning the three-time champions to a mission that is nigh on impossible if they are to make the knockout stages.

A shocking 33-6 loss to Wasps at the RDS last weekend served as the worst possible start and, though Leo Cullen’s side was infinitely better here, it made no difference to the final result after a gripping encounter with last season’s Aviva Premiership runners-up.

Two tussles with the mighty Toulon beckon next month for the Irish province who coped well with a scintillating Bath back line but conceded 16 points to their hosts directly from a scrum that was minced far too often throughout the eighty minutes.

Bath mined three penalties and a penalty try in all from the set-piece.

Leinster had to scramble time and again to keep Bath at bay in the first half, the hosts’ lightning back line continuously making breaks and half-breaks that left the Irish visitors firefighting and they will have been relieved to reach the sheds at half-time without conceding a try.

Some of the handling and lines of running from the likes of wings Matt Banahan and Semsa Rokoduguni and Kyle Eastmond in the centre were superb to watch and Leinster were already struggling at the scrum from the earliest exchanges.

Yet the closest Bath came to a five-pointer was just after the half-hour when George Ford established territory with a delicious kick to the corner. Leinster cleared from the resulting lineout, but Bath drove back with a move that ended with lock and captain Stuart Hooper diving over.

Luckily for Leinster, a slight forward flick was spotted, wing Matt Banahan being the culprit, and the let-off ignited Leinster’s best spell of the half with hooker Sean Cronin making 50 metres on the back of a short one-two with Hayden Triggs at the lineout.

It was a move that came to nothing, however. As with Wasps last week, Leinster looked largely toothless once they pushed beyond first or second phase and another push into the Bath 22 ended with Ben Te’o knocking on. Again, very reminiscent of last week.

Still, Leinster had at least begun to fight back by the change of ends – by which stage Bath led 6-3 thanks to Ford’s penalty and drop goal against a single penalty for Jonathan Sexton - with their lineout beginning to flow and the scrum temporarily vying for dominance.

Ford kicked Bath six points ahead six minutes after the restart soon as Leinster leaked a tonne of territory via a lightning Bath attack, but such penetrations were by then far from frequent as the Irish province grew into the contest still further.

Two Sexton penalties had them level by the 56th minute with the first coming courtesy of a superb attacking move that was full of power and purpose as leading figures including Jamie Heaslip and Isa Nacewa took the fight to the English side.

That challenge was accepted, and some.

Within six minutes the game had turned again with Bath spurning a possible three points to kick to the corner and build pressure, which they did through a shove from an ensuing scrum that crumpled Leinster’s eight and persuaded referee Jerome Garces to award the penalty try.

It threatened to be the defining moment in a game of fine margins, Ford’s resultant dink from under the posts leaving a converted try between them, but the deficit was wiped out spectacularly by Josh Van Der Flier who steamed over just seconds after his introduction.

Fellow replacement James Tracy ignited the move with a penetrating carry through the centre, Fergus McFadden kept the move and the momentum going and then the young flanker identified a gaping hole in the Bath midfield to power through with two men on his back.

It was Leinster’s first try in Europe after 150 minutes trying, but their scrum let them down one last time with three minutes remaining and it allowed Ford kick one last penalty to grab the win. Their scrum aside, this was much, much better from Leinster, but still not good enough.

Bath: A Watson; S Rokoduguni, O Devoto, K Eastmond, M Banahan; G Ford, C Cook; N Auterac, R Webber, H Thomas; D Attwood, S Hooper; M Garvey, F Louw, L Houston. Replacements: R Batty for Webber (54); A Faosiliva for Houston (55); N Matawalu for Cook (57); M Lahiff for Thomas (65); N Catt for Auterac (67); R Priestland for Devoto (71).

Leinster: I Nacewa; F McFadden, B Te’o, L Fitzgerald; D Kearney; J Sexton, I Boss; C Healy, S Cronin, M Ross; D Toner, H Triggs; R Ruddock, J Murphy, J Heaslip. Replacements: M Moore for Ross and J McGrath for Healy (51); D Ryan for Triggs (53); J Van Der Flier for Murphy (65); J Tracy for Cronin and L McGrath for Boss (both 68); Z Kirchner for Kearney (79).

Referee: J Garces (France).