Amidst a classic rugby union's most storied rivalries, the fixture involving Leicester versus the visitors proved to be as much about an emotion during the interval than any on-field action during the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Tigers old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey here, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester were more or less close to their very best, whereas Bath were situated enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
A Truly Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains 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, Leicester won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in a congested league, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Finish
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
