Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's greatest contests, this match involving the Tigers versus the visitors was as much about an emotion at the interval than the rugby during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent of Leicester old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt here, 15 years ago, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester were more or less close to their very best, whereas Bath found themselves enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Reception on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were a different class when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try 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
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, 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. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
