Amidst a classic English rugby's greatest contests, the fixture between Leicester and the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by the emotion at half-time as the on-field action on play.
Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Leicester former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester remained still at their very best, while Bath were situated in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby 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. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Cracknell's score for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense Conclusion
That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
