Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's most storied rivalries, the match between the Tigers and the visitors was as much about an emotion at half-time than the on-field action during play.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Leicester former players in honour of Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, the home side were more or less still at the peak of their powers, while Bath were situated in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Passionate Reception on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, and the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, 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.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. 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 forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. Actually, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
