Amidst one of English rugby's most storied contests, this fixture involving the Tigers versus Bath proved to be heavily influenced by the emotion at the interval than the on-field action on the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent of Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey here, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less still at their very best, while Bath found themselves enduring a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. 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
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, darted blind, and the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, who moved up the table in a congested league, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.
Contrasting Game Plans
Bath were a different class 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 against the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed 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 tries were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Conclusion
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, which they held for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
