Amidst one of rugby union's greatest rivalries, the fixture between the Tigers and the visitors was heavily influenced by an emotion at half-time as any rugby on play.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Leicester old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester were more or less close to their very best, while Bath were situated enduring 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 on Home Turf
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side did not stand a chance. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.
A Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. 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 lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning 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.
