Against the backdrop of a classic rugby union's greatest rivalries, this match involving the Tigers versus the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by the emotion at half-time as any rugby during play.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons 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 lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Emotional Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, who moved up the table in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
Bath were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties against the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Finish
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, which they held for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
