Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's greatest contests, this match involving Leicester and Bath was as much about an emotional tribute during half-time as any on-field action on play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Tigers old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester remained still at the peak of their powers, whereas Bath found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by the away side put Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries either side of half-time.
A Nail-Biting Conclusion
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession 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 with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
