Amidst a classic rugby union's most storied contests, the fixture involving the Tigers and the visitors was as much about an emotion during the interval as the rugby on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining 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 Bath were situated enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. 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.
A Truly Emotional Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, who climb a little higher in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Finish
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, 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, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
