Against the backdrop of a classic rugby union's greatest rivalries, the fixture between the Tigers and the visitors was heavily influenced by an emotion at the interval as the on-field action during play.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with MND.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester remained still at the peak of their powers, while their opponents were situated enduring a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Passionate Reception on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break 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. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, before the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, 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, 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 in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties against Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Conclusion
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. In fact, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
