Amidst a classic rugby union's greatest rivalries, the fixture involving the Tigers and the visitors was as much about an emotion at the interval as the on-field action during play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Tigers former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, 15 years ago, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester remained close to the peak of their powers, while their opponents found themselves enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status in over two decades.
A Truly Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission 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, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, before the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
The Tense Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, 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 lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning 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.
