Against the backdrop of a classic rugby union's greatest contests, the fixture involving Leicester versus Bath proved to be as much about an emotion at half-time than any rugby on play.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Leicester old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with MND.
The last time Moody wore the Tigers' shirt here, 15 years ago, prior to joining Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester were more or less close to their very best, while their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
A Truly Passionate Reception at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, who climb a little higher 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 Game Plans
The visitors were sublime when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested 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 scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries either side of half-time.
The Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. In fact, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. 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 energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. 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.
