Amidst a classic rugby union's most storied rivalries, the match between Leicester versus the visitors was as much about an emotional tribute at the interval as the on-field action during play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt here, 15 years ago, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester remained still at the peak of their powers, while Bath found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
A Truly Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, 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 his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, 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 they face.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were sublime when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties against Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, either side of Cracknell's score for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. Actually, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, 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 earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
