Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's greatest rivalries, this match involving Leicester versus the visitors was heavily influenced by the emotion at the interval as the on-field action during the pitch.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Tigers old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at the peak of their powers, whereas their opponents found themselves enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
A Truly Emotional Reception on Home Turf
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 will always be the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an 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 climb a little higher in a congested league, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.
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 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. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
