Amidst one of rugby union's greatest contests, the match between the Tigers versus the visitors proved to be as much about an emotional tribute during the interval than any on-field action during play.
Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey here, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, the home side were more or less still at their very best, whereas their opponents were situated enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that in over two decades.
An Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were sublime when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties against Bath put Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.
A Tense Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish 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 gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
