Against the backdrop of a classic rugby union's greatest contests, the fixture involving the Tigers and Bath proved to be heavily influenced by an emotional tribute at the interval than the on-field action on play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Tigers former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, Leicester remained close to the peak of their powers, while Bath were situated enduring a lengthy period devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
A Truly Emotional Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, no matter the pedigree they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over to score either side of half-time.
A Nail-Biting Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
