Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's greatest rivalries, this match involving Leicester and Bath proved to be as much about the emotional tribute at the interval as any on-field action during play.
Martin Johnson led a contingent of Tigers former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with MND.
The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt here, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side remained close to the peak of their powers, while Bath were situated enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Styles
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries 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 were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Tense Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained 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 scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
