Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's most storied rivalries, the match involving the Tigers versus the visitors was as much about the emotional tribute at the interval than the rugby during play.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody wore a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, the home side were more or less still at the peak of their powers, while their opponents were situated enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
A Truly Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit caught him high, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were sublime when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
The Tense Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
