Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's greatest rivalries, the match between the Tigers versus the visitors was as much about the emotion during the interval than the rugby on the pitch.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Tigers old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore a Leicester jersey here, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, the home side were more or less still at their very best, while Bath were situated in the middle of a lengthy period without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception at Welford Road
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, who climb a little higher in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Styles
Bath were sublime when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
The Nail-Biting Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession 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. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
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 put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
