Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's greatest rivalries, this fixture between the Tigers versus Bath proved to be heavily influenced by the emotional tribute at the interval than the on-field action during the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey here, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, the home side remained still at their very best, whereas 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, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, 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 at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
The visitors were a different class when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning 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.
