Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's most storied contests, the fixture involving the Tigers and Bath proved to be heavily influenced by the emotional tribute during the interval than any rugby on play.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Tigers former players in honour of Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt here, 15 years ago, prior to joining Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side remained still at the peak of their powers, while their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, 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.
It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in a congested league, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties against Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over to score either side of half-time.
The Tense Conclusion
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 secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated 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 gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
