Amidst one of English rugby's greatest contests, the fixture involving the Tigers and the visitors was as much about the emotional tribute at the interval than any on-field action on play.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with MND.
When Moody wore a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals 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 found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
A Truly Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before 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 steal the win.
We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, who moved up the table in a congested league, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were sublime when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.
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 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 either side of half-time.
The Tense Conclusion
That earned Tigers 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 score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
