Amidst a classic rugby union's most storied rivalries, this fixture involving the Tigers versus the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by the emotion at half-time than the on-field action on play.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt here, 15 years ago, before moving to Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester remained close to the peak of their powers, whereas their opponents were situated enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of 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, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit caught him high, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in a congested league, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors were a different class when in possession. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against Bath put Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.
The Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty 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 conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
