Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's greatest contests, this match involving the Tigers and the visitors proved to be as much about the emotional tribute during half-time than any rugby during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Tigers former players in honour of Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at the peak of their powers, whereas Bath found themselves in the middle of a lengthy period without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
An Passionate Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, who climb a little higher in a congested league, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. So 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 under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece 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 works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. In fact, their breakthrough 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 inside the final ten minutes.
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 in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
