Amidst one of English rugby's greatest rivalries, the fixture involving Leicester versus the visitors was as much about the emotional tribute at half-time than the on-field action during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, the home side remained still at their very best, whereas their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that in over two decades.
An Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in a congested league, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
