Amidst a classic English rugby's most storied contests, the fixture involving the Tigers and the visitors was as much about the emotion during the interval as the rugby during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent of Tigers former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with MND.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt here, 15 years ago, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side remained close to their very best, while their opponents found themselves enduring a lengthy period devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that in over two decades.
A Truly Emotional Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by the away side put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.
A Nail-Biting Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. Actually, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired 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 where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
