Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's most storied rivalries, this fixture between the Tigers versus the visitors proved to be as much about the emotional tribute at the interval as the on-field action during the pitch.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with MND.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester remained close to their very best, while their opponents found themselves enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
An Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, before 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 steal the win.
It felt like being transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, either side of Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries either side of half-time.
The Tense Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
