Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's greatest rivalries, this fixture involving the Tigers and the visitors proved to be as much about the emotional tribute at half-time than any on-field action during the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx 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 shirt here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester remained close to their very best, whereas Bath were situated enduring a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that in over two decades.
A Truly Emotional Reception on Home Turf
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors 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 deluge of penalties against the away side put Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith powered over to score either side of half-time.
A Tense Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. 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, 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, 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. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
