Against the backdrop of a classic rugby union's most storied contests, this match involving the Tigers and Bath proved to be as much about an emotional tribute at half-time than the rugby on play.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Leicester former players in honour of Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody wore a Leicester shirt here, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, the home side remained still at their very best, while Bath found themselves in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Emotional Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, 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 they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against the away side put Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, 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. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.
A Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, an advantage they maintained 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 at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won 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.
