Against the backdrop of a classic rugby union's most storied rivalries, this match between the Tigers versus the visitors proved to be as much about the emotion during half-time than any on-field action during the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt here, 15 years ago, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester were more or less close to their very best, while their opponents found themselves enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Tense Conclusion
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in 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, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
