Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's most storied contests, this fixture between the Tigers and the visitors proved to be as much about an emotion during the interval than any on-field action during play.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Leicester old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt here, 15 years ago, prior to joining Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side were more or less close to their very best, whereas their opponents found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
An Passionate Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit 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 transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
Bath were a different class when in possession. 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 conceded by the away side put Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
A Tense Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, 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, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
