Amidst one of rugby union's greatest rivalries, the fixture involving Leicester versus the visitors was as much about the emotion at the interval than the on-field action during play.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Tigers former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey here, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, the home side remained still at the peak of their powers, whereas Bath found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Passionate Reception at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree they face.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.
A Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
