Amidst one of rugby union's greatest rivalries, the fixture between Leicester versus the visitors was heavily influenced by an emotional tribute during the interval as the rugby on the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Tigers former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester remained still at their very best, while their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, Leicester won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
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 score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. 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 for one last, brutish assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
