Palmer scored for Leeds

Leeds put an emphatic stop to their mid-season slump with victory over Bath at Headingley.

The Tykes put a six-match run without a win behind them with tries from Tom Palmer and Dan Hyde and 10 points from the boot of South African Braam van Straaten.

Bath suffered a pre-match blow with the withdrawal of full-back Ian Balshaw with a pulled calf muscle.

And they were only able to muster a try from scrum-half Gareth Cooper and an Olly Barkley conversion in the face of the spirited Leeds attack.

The effort has always been there and it was a matter of time before we got the results going in our favour Leeds coach Phil Davies

Leeds surged in front with two penalties from the boot of the Springbok centre after Bath fly-half Olly Barkley had missed with an ambitious long-range attempt inside five minutes.

Bath's problems soon mounted when England lock Palmer crashed over for his second try of the season after verification from the touch judge.

The conversion was added by van Straaten to give Leeds a 13-0 lead at half-time.

Match facts Leeds: Tries: Palmer, Hyde Pens: van Straaten (2) Cons: van Straaten Bath: Tries: Cooper Cons: Barkley

The home side widened the gap soon after the break when flanker Hyde burst from a maul to romp home on 47 minutes.

Bath still had the edge in the set-piece, with Steve Borthwick and Danny Grewcock towering in the line-outs, but their decision-making and handling was poor.

Despite Cooper's 68th-minute try, the visitors never looked like making a game of it.

The conditions played into Leeds' hands Bath co-coach Brian Smith

Centre Mike Tindall tried to ignite Bath's back division on his 100th competitive appearance.

But the West Country side lurched to their eighth defeat of the season and remain deep in relegation trouble.

Leeds: Scarborough, Stanley, Davies, van Straaten, Albanese, Ross, Dickens, Shelley, Regan, Holt, C. Murphy, Palmer, Mather, Hyde, Fea'unati.

Bath: Perry, Danielli, Maggs, Tindall, Voyce, Barkley, Cooper, Barnes, Humphries, Mallett, Borthwick, Grewcock, G. Thomas, Vander, N. Thomas.

Referee: Dave Pearson (RFU)