Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's greatest contests, the match between the Tigers versus the visitors was as much about the emotional tribute during the interval as any rugby during the pitch.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Leicester old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with MND.
When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt here, 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 still at the peak of their powers, whereas Bath were situated in the middle of a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that in over two decades.
An Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
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. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try 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 the lead, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish 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 gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
