Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's most storied contests, this match involving the Tigers versus the visitors was as much about an emotion at the interval as any rugby during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, 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 close to their very best, while their opponents found themselves enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
An Emotional Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
Bath were a different class when in possession. 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 the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards 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 tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
